Waiting
by Noseless Wonder
Summary: Pan takes a trip to the past and makes some accidental changes, but they're changes she's going to like. *Completed and Revised*
1. Chapters 1 and 2

Title:   Waiting

Author: The Noseless Wonder

Email: Smile83775@aol.com

Status:  Incomplete

Disclaimer:  I do not own Dragonball Z or GT. I didn't create any of the characters either.   

I just wrote a spiffy little fic about them. So, if you'd be so kind as to not come and kill me in my sleep, my family and I would greatly appreciate it.  

Authors notes:  Okay bare with me. This is my first time writing a full-out fanfic. What's          

                         even scarier is that this is the first time I've ever let anyone else read my     

                                                work and it's my first time writing sap. O_o;; 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan flew slowly. She was early, so she could afford to take her time. She had her eyes closed momentarily as she enjoyed cooling off in the wind. Her body was tensing in preparation for her up-coming spar, but her mind was somewhere completely different. She was thinking about him… again.

Ten years had passed. Ten years and her feelings for him hadn't changed at all. She knew it could never happen. She would never be anything more than a friend. After all, he was so much older than her and there wasn't a chance he would ever see past that. Eleven years before, he had only considered her a child… a little girl who was 'his responsibility'. Though after a year of living and nearly dying together, she knew he had finally grown to consider her a real friend. Not just his best friend's niece, or his sister's friend, but _his friend… and she didn't want to ruin that. In that one year, she had managed to keep him virtually all to herself. Despite having her absent-minded grandfather along with them, they really __did get a lot closer. Pan guessed that it was a common occurrence that happened between people who depended on each other so much._

After their tour of the galaxy, they became regular sparring partners. Often, she would go by the Brief's home during weekends, or kidnap him from the office during his lunch break and they would work out together. Sometimes, he even took an extra long lunch, one of the advantages to being President of your own corporation, and they would go spar for a while. Then, he would take her to lunch at one of those fancy restaurants that she had to shower and dress up for. She always looked forward to those little sparring sessions with him, even if he _was just using her as a punching bag. It gave her a chance to be with him… as friends. _

She wasn't sure when it had started… She wasn't even sure _how it had started… but she knew those feelings had been there for a long time. When she was six or seven, she remembered, she used to try to find anyway possible to interrupt his many dates. Even at such a young age, she knew she wanted to be with him. Finally, when she was old enough, she realized what those feelings towards him really were. That's when she started feeling the pain and embarrassment. That's when her heart started to crumble every time she saw him with another girl._

She loved him… in many different ways. She loved just _being with him… they had so much fun together.. He was her best friend, even if she wasn't his. He was her knight in shinning armor, even though she really didn't need one. There __was a time in High School when she needed a hero though… and he was right there… at her Senior prom. All the guys from her school that had asked her out were jerks, so she turned them down. He knew something was wrong when he looked at her. So, she swallowed her pride and told him the truth. She really wanted to go to her last High School dance… but she didn't want to suffer the humiliation of going alone. Trunks saw her predicament and instantly offered to go with her. Despite the attention he would get, he really didn't want her to be alone._

Pan accepted reluctantly. There he was… an intelligent, rich, handsome and eligible bachelor, who was also the well known President of Capsule Corporation, at a High School dance. He even got down on one knee, kissed her hand and sweet talked to her at the moment he knew the most people were watching… the moment they were voted King and Queen of the prom. They hadn't even been on the ballot. Trunks had laughed, going on about how silly it was that they made such a big deal for him. It gave them a nice souvenir, though. Everyone who saw it laughed at the picture of the two of them in cheap, paper crowns. It showed Trunks, a thirty-two  year-old prom King kneeled in front and kissing the hand of a blushing, but smiling Pan. 

He had always been a willing punching bag if she ever needed to vent some anger… especially if he was allowed to hit back. Whether she was hurt, or just generally frustrated at life, fighting was her version of crying on his shoulder. Other than that, she tried never to allow herself to appear weak in front of him. He wasn't exactly the best counselor on earth, but he was there when she needed him… and most of the time, he was the only one she could go to. She kept trying to tell herself that all she ever wanted was for him to be there like he had been… but it wasn't. She wanted more.

When Goten had told her that Trunks and Marron were back together, she nearly died. She felt her world crash around her, but with her uncle right in front of her, all she could do was pretend to be happy for them. All she really wanted to do was punch something… and cry… just a little. Thinking back, he had seemed a little down about it too. Back then, it didn't mean anything to Pan, but hind-sight is perfect and as Pan later found out, Goten was in love with Marron.                                                           

Somehow, Pan had managed to get a hold of her emotions. She couldn't let anyone see how she felt, not even her uncle. That was probably the only time she had really succeeded in getting Trunks out of her mind. What was she going to do, pick a fight, the winner gets Trunks? Marron was one of her best friends. Pan had always promised herself she would never let a guy get in the way of the friendships she had with Marron and Bra. 

The again, she never really thought she had to worry about Marron getting Trunks. They had gone out before, but it ended in disaster. Pan really didn't know how the relationship blew up because she was only three at the time, and that wasn't a question she felt comfortable asking. She just assumed that it would end the same way this time too. Besides, if any one else was to have Trunks, Pan was happy it was someone who wouldn't mind her sparring with him. It wasn't like Marron had purposely stolen him away. She had no idea how Pan felt about Trunks… no one did. Pan made up her mind to be truly happy for her two friends. She wasn't about to stand in their way if they were happy… and they were. Everyone knew that. 

Pan was completely lost in her own thoughts as she continued to fly North. Already, she could see the huge, yellow dome and towers in the center of the city known as Capsule Corporation. She knew everything there was to know about that place. In fact, she could probably fly from Capsule Corp to her house with her eyes closed and her senses blocked.

 For as long as she could remember, the Briefs' house had been like a second home to her. She always showed up when she needed to study with Bra or spar with Trunks. She even spent some time training with Vegeta on rare occasions. 

Pan remembered fondly the times she spent getting on the Prince's nerves. She recalled watching him train and spar with invisible enemies from the bushes. He always _had refused to train her, saying that she was too young, too weak and that she would probably never even go Super Saiyan. Watching Vegeta, however, taught her more than private lessons with the best instructors in the world ever could. _

Carefully, she would study his technique… soaking in every attack and move as if her life depended on it. When she felt brave, she would step out of her hiding place and mimic his moves. If she was ever unsure, or wanted his instruction, she would purposefully do it wrong. That way, Vegeta would yell at her for doing it incorrectly, then show her the right way. 

"Stupid brat!" he would shout. He eventually caved in and started to help her train on a regular basis. Pan had a hard time admitting it, but he was mostly responsible for giving her the push she needed to reach her goals.

When Pan was seventeen, Vegeta felt like she could use some wilderness training. He had stated that "the brat" was too spoiled and coddled by her foolish parents. Gohan said 'no' right off the bat. There was no way his seventeen year-old daughter was going to go off… by herself… in the woods and train for three years… even if she did have one of Bulma's capsule homes to live in. That decision didn't last long, however. Pan relentlessly begged, saying that she wanted more independence anyway, and there was probably going to be someone there so often, that she wasn't really going to be alone. She also made the argument that since she had already finished high school, this would be good pre-college conditioning. Eventually Gohan caved, much against the protests of his wife Videl. 

Finally, Pan had the opportunity to _really train and focus on her strength. Eventually, the Z-team members came and assisted her. At first, Pan wasn't sure she wanted them there. After all, they were all sort of old and weak. Plus, she hadn't seen many of them since she was fourteen. Nonetheless, they all had unique abilities and special attacks that they never got to use anymore, mostly because there had been peace for so long and their bodies were getting old and out of shape. The abilities were still valuable and strong, if used by the right fighter. This was a big lesson for Pan, who had spent too much time with Vegeta and taken on his views of a weak humanity. _

Yamucha came first… teaching her some of his energy manipulating techniques. He seemed sad, she noted, that in his prime, those attacks were well known for their extreme difficulty. However, Pan mastered them within a day. Tien and Choazu eventually traveled down from the Empire. Pan was very surprised to see Choazu, who had become very old and immovable. Still, they both instructed her in the art of energy manipulation, the multiple form attack and the solar flare. She learned all of what they had to teach her in no time at all. Krillin came and trained her in various forms of fist-to-fist combat. She had noticed that his fighting style was a lot like her grandfather's. Vegeta's training made boot camp look like a ride on a merry-go-round, but she did everything he told her to. Because of this, she got a lot stronger than she would have with anyone else.

She always learned something new each time one of them came. Many times, they wouldn't even get into talking about fighting. It became a tradition of sorts that one of them would come down and just tell her stories about their past adventures. She was grateful for the wisdom her elders had to offer her… and they were grateful to have someone who would listen to them and be able to pass it down through the generations. 

Her most honored training session, though, was when her grandfather Goku had come with Piccolo. Piccolo had taught her things that he said he had only taught her father when he was going through wilderness training. Goku helped her with the strength training, and when they were finished, he told her what was necessary for going Super Saiyan. Much to her dismay, he delivered some rather bad news. Goku had always been the optimist. However, after several weeks of intense, group training, he had to tell her the truth. So, he sat her down… and told her that he didn't think there was much of a chance for her to go Super Saiyan. Her blood was mostly human, and although that had helped her father, uncle and Trunks succeed, it would do little for her, if not slow her down. 

A short time before she was done with her training, her parents came to visit. Gohan refused to spar with her, but he helped her with her training. Pan was beginning to wonder what was wrong. She knew this wasn't a typical visit because both of her parents were acting strange, as if they were waiting for something. Then one day at dinner, Gohan and Videl informed Pan that she was going to have a baby brother. Before she heard the news, Pan was toying with the idea of staying longer, but with a new baby, her parents were going to need all the help they could get at home… which meant that she would have to cut her training short. 

Of course, many of her favorite moments were with Trunks. Him and Goten were there almost once every week, unless something came up, but Trunks came alone almost every day. She was glad to have that time with him, even though it was so short. Pan and Trunks both noticed that Goten was beginning to act strangely when he fought. He was a lot more violent than he had been in the past and he never slacked up until she was practically unconscious. 

One time, when they were fighting, he went overboard. Unfortunately, it had been on the day Trunks chose to be late. He started to pound on her again and again. When Trunks got there, Goten started beating on _him. This made Pan so angry that she surprised everyone by going Super Saiyan. She had exceeded everyone's expectations, including her grandfather's. After that, Goten never trained with her again. The way he had acted had kind of freaked him out, and he didn't want to do that again. No one went easy on her at all after that. She had trained so hard, especially with Goku and Vegeta, that she went level two before she was done. _

Pan had planned to spend the last three days training with Trunks. He was going to stay there overnight, much to her father's dismay, so he wouldn't have to make the long commute every time. They didn't train, though. Trunks broke the news that he and Marron were engaged. It took everything Pan had to keep from shedding tears over this. Pan pushed it out of her mind. There was nothing she could do… they were in love. The rest of the time, they spent talking and generally hanging out. They talked about _everything under the sun… including some pretty personal insight. Whenever she brought up the wedding, though, a tone would cross Trunks' voice… a tone that made her think maybe he wasn't as eager to get hitched as he let on. She dismissed that thought as well, telling herself that she was just being overly-hopeful._

They had a really good time. At least, Pan did. It made her think that even after a straight year together, they had gotten much closer in that one weekend. They slept outside, under the stars, and he would tell her funny stories until one of them fell asleep. The morning they were to leave, she woke up and found his arm was around her waist, and his nose was nuzzled in her hair. She pretended to be asleep so she could enjoy it, kicking herself for being so weak and pitiful. When he woke up, he apologized, saying that it was only a force of habit, but it was still the best feeling in the world to her.

Trunks helped her pack up all of her stuff as they prepared to leave. They had planned to eat lunch together, but Trunks said he had to go back and talk to Marron. The way he had looked to Pan… well, it made her think that he really didn't want to go.

"That was five years ago." Pan said out-loud, still lost in her memories. "Whoa, has it really been that long? I must be getting old. Although, I don't know many people who would consider being twenty-five old."

Chichi and Bulma had planned a surprise party for the day after Pan got back from her training. She wasn't too eager to go because she was exhausted, but at least she'd get to see everyone together again. Mid-way through the party Trunks and Marron stood up. Pan figured they probably had something to say about the wedding, considering it was only two weeks away. She had noticed that Goten looked very nervous when Trunks had finally gotten everyone's attention. 

"We just wanted to let you know that the wedding is off." Trunks had said. Pan felt her heart jump up and down, attempting to leap out of the confines of her chest. Questions were being asked by every one at the table all at once. Pan and Goten, on the other hand were silent. Pan looked over at her uncle, who curiously, was starting to look a lot happier. That's when Pan started to think that there might be something going on between Goten and Marron. Her theory was proven correct when Goten and Marron went off together after dinner. 

After everyone had settled down a little, she went looking for them. She found them, alright. They were in a very warm embrace, behind some trees. She was about to say something about them hurting Trunks, but she felt a hand resting on her shoulder, preventing her from making a sound. She turned to see Trunks… and he was smiling. He explained to her that the reason he had left the forest early the day before was so that he could break up with Marron, but when he started to explain it to her, Marron finally admitted that she had fallen for Goten. They had been seeing each other for quite a while behind Trunks' back. He told Pan that he had enjoyed their conversations earlier and that he had realized that was something lacking in his relationship with Marron… just being friends. 

A year later, Goten and Marron were married. Pan rejoiced at this news. Not only did Trunks and Marron break up, but they were still friends. Now she could see Goten and Marron together and be genuinely happy for them without feeling an obligation to Trunks because he was hurt. It was a mutual decision, and as long as both Trunks and Marron were happy with this decision, Pan was happy. In fact, she was _very happy. Trunks wasn't mad with Goten either. Much to Goten's surprise, as well as everyone else's, Trunks just shook hands and wished them the best. He was even the best man at their wedding. He never held it against either of them._

"Why aren't you taken yet?" she wondered, out-loud, why the most eligible bachelor in town was still eligible… and nearing forty.

She kept having to remind herself that she'd rather have him as a friend. If she tried to make a move on him, it would probably just end up costing them their friendship. Besides, she should be glad that he's still single, this way, she could get more attention.

"Trunks." She said softly. "This isn't healthy, obsessing over a guy. I wonder how many great men I've turned down waiting for him to notice me. I really should get over him. Besides, the last thing I want to do is become a member of his gold-digging, giggling, screaming, neurotic fan club." 

She landed softly on the lush green grass in the back of the Capsule building. "I'd better stop talking to myself. Someone might hear me." She chuckled. Talking to herself was an annoying habit she'd picked up from her father and grandfather. "I really do need help."

It was a nice, warm day. The sun was shining, but it wasn't hot at all. There was a gentle breeze blowing in that was just strong enough to stir her long, black hair. She inhaled deeply and savored the smells of a beautiful morning. 'A perfect day to spar.' She thought, hoping they had already started so she could watch.

She walked around the building, but there were no signs of either Goten or Trunks. She couldn't even sense their ki very well, so she knew they weren't fighting yet. They said they'd wait for her outside. "Trunks probably slept in and Goten is probably not even here yet."

Then, Pan heard the sound of metal clinging. She walked around and saw that the huge garage door that was always shut, was open. She knew Bulma was in there. She figured that was her best bet in finding Goten and Trunks any time soon. Their home was huge. With all the different hallways and doors, it might take Pan forever to find them and she still couldn't sense their ki enough to tell where they were.

She looked inside the huge storage room. It had all the signs of a large family, or at least, a Saiyan one. Its shelves were stocked with enough food to last a small city a lifetime, and a Saiyan a month. One complete side of the room was dedicated to bottled water. Looking up at this shelf, it seemed like there was enough water there to fill a mid-sized lake.

Pan had the suspicion that Bulma was using it as a temporary laboratory. In the middle of the room the was a large computer set, but this regular looking computer set was sitting next to a huge, round, space ship. Pan figured it was Bulma's latest project and wondered if she should even bother asking what it was. Wires and tubes were scattered throughout the floor, all heading to unknown destinations. There were things beeping and bleeping mixed in with the occasional buzz and the sound of an electric screwdriver.

Pan looked around, and she finally saw a pair of worn-out, old tennis shoes sticking out from underneath the ship. She figured that whoever was underneath could give her the whereabouts of Trunks and Goten. She slowly started working her way in towards the space ship, being careful not to trip over any wires or blow anything up. She eventually gave up and just levitated there. When she finally got over all the wires and cords, she knocked on the medal wall directly above the shoes. She heard the screwdriver stop as whoever was under there made a frustrated grunt. 

"I told you, if you want some food you can get it yourself because I'm busy!" the voice yelled. 

Pan was taken aback by the shear volume of it. It reached well above all the beeps and buzzes. It must be Bulma. Pan tapped again. "Bulma?" she asked, but Bulma didn't hear the voice, only the tap.

"Can't you do anything yourself? I don't know why you think that just because I'm a woman I have to wait on you hand and foot! If you interrupt me one more time, I'm going to take that foot and I'm going to shove it…" she finally rolled out from underneath her workstation and was cut-off in mid sentence by a surprise. Instead of seeing her over-proud Saiyan Prince, wearing a scowl with his arms crossed in front of him, she saw the petite form of a woman and a face shining brightly at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry Pan I thought you were Vegeta." Bulma apologized as she grabbed a rag from the nearby table and started wiping her hands.

"Yeah, I sort of figured that." Pan said. "Having fun?"

"Ha! If you only knew." Bulma wore the signs of a hard day's work. She was wearing her work clothes, which consisted of an old, torn up pair of jeans, a plain, white t - shirt and a couple of, what looked like, the oldest pair of sneakers on earth. All of them had fresh oil stains which well complimented the old ones. Her shirt looked like she had taken her hands and wiped them across in attempt to get the grease off. Her face had grease on it too, which was watered down by the vast amounts of sweat pouring from her forehead. She had her fine, blue hair tied up in a pony-tail, but that did little to help. The back of her hair looked like it had been dragged through whatever she had on her shirt and her bangs were drenched in sweat. She pushed her bangs out of her face with her hand, which caused a new smear to form on her forehead. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked Pan.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your work, but I'm trying to find Goten and Trunks. We were supposed to spar together." Pan put her green gym bag on the floor and pulled out a rubber band. She tied her hair up a bun in preparation for her upcoming exercise. She was already dressed appropriately, wearing a pair of baggy sweats and a tank top. That described the majority of her wardrobe anyway. She liked to dress up occasionally, but she would rather be comfortable.  

"They're in the kitchen eating lunch." 

"Eating lunch?" Pan was surprised at both Goten and Trunks for letting their stomachs get the better of them. "Their bloated stomachs are going to slow them down! They'll be too easy to beat that way. I was hoping for a good workout." 

"Actually, you came at a good time. I was just about to get a bite to eat myself." Bulma said. "Why don't you come in and join us? It will give them a chance to digest their food."

"Thanks, but I already ate. So what's with the new toy Ms. Bulma?"

"Well the Bulma from the other dimension created a time machine for future Trunks. I thought it would be a good idea, in case something happened here where we needed it. Besides, if the other Bulma can build one, I figured I can build one. Actually, I was only playing with the idea, but Trunks pushed me into it. He promised that if I did, he would help. He's held up to his promise too. He did the body work and most of the electrical and plumbing work. I've really only worked on the actual time components. I think he just wants to be the first to test it."

"Cool." Pan said, as she walked around the big ship admiring it. "So when is it going to be ready to fly?"

"It already is. I'm just working out some of the kinks." Bulma said. "My major problem is the date of return. The machine has to come back exactly two months after they get to the past. I really don't want the first test to last three months, so I'm trying to find away to push up the date of return."

"Three months? I thought you said two."

"Well, that's another problem. The wormhole is a week away. That means two weeks for a one-way trip and two weeks coming back. The actual time spent in the past is only two months."

"A wormhole?" Pan asked. She was beginning to feel less and less intelligent by the minute.

"Well," Bulma explained, "It's like this: The only way a ship could gain the energy and speed needed for time travel is to make a sling-shot around the sun. You know, use the sun's enormous magnetic energy to gain speed. It would be like grabbing a pole when you're on skates, making you go faster. The problem is, there's only a half a percent chance that the ship and the pilot won't go crashing into the sun. That's a risk I'm not willing to take, but lately I've been observing this wormhole..." Bulma pulled Pan over to the computer screen to show her a diagram of the wormhole. "Actually, I've been observing it for quite some time, and it's remained stable and constant the entire time."

"So, what exactly does a wormhole do?" Pan asked, feeling really dumb.

"It takes you a long distance in a short amount of time, gaining the speed and energy required for time travel. The odds are better, but there are some problems. First off, I needed to find the exact moment for the ship to exit the time machine in order to be sent back seventeen years. I chose seventeen years just because there was nothing really important that happened then that we could screw up. I already found the exact point using mathematical equations. I've checked them millions of times and I've had everyone I know check them too. It's not the equations I'm worried about, I'm just nervous about sending someone back into time, especially if that someone is Trunks. Another problem is that the wormhole is on a two and a half month cycle. Point A stays the same, but point B moves and only returns to the same place every two and a half months. It doesn't matter what point you go in at, but if you don't return exactly two and a half months later, you might not return to the present time. Other than that, the ship's ready to sail. I've put enough food in the fridge to last even a Saiyan a couple of months. I even put men and women's clothing in there too."

"Wow. That's really cool. I wouldn't mind going seventeen years into the past. I don't remember much from back then because I was only eight."

"I'm sorry to ramble on like that Pan. You must be bored to death."

"No Ms. Bulma." Pan said. "Actually, I think it sounds awesome, from what I understood, anyway. Besides, that gave Goten and Trunks time to digest their food, and with their Saiyan metabolism, they should be about ready for me to beat up."

                                                Chapter 2 

Pan waited outdoors for the two demi-Saiyans to finish eating. Goten and Trunks walked outside rubbing their stomachs in appreciation of their recent meal. Before they had a chance to realize what was happening, Trunks was laying on the ground and Pan was sitting on his stomach. Goten felt Pan give a sharp kick to the back of his knee and the next thing he knew, he was eating grass. 

"Oh, hi Pan." Goten said looking up at their mysterious attacker.

"Late enough?" Pan asked sarcastically making herself comfortable on the new chair she had acquired.

"Comfy?" Trunks asked from underneath Pan.

"Quite, thank you. So, what was so good that you had to break our appointment?"

"Mom made some lunch for me to take with us." Goten said rubbing his jaw where he had fallen.

"Sorry we're late Pan." Trunks said shoving her off of her cushion. 

"Yeah? Well the beating your about to get is enough punishment for now." She said getting into a battle position.

"You might want to take that back." Goten said.

"Make me." She dared, and the battle began.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan struggled to catch her breath as she clang to a nearby tree. "That wasn't fair, Goten! You know level three is too much for me to handle!"  

They had been sparring for nearly two hours, but Goten and Trunks hadn't even broken a sweat. Pan, on the other hand, had been bleeding for a while and she was straining to keep at level two. Goten, for some reason, was going especially rough on her that day. He wasn't going any easier because she was hurt either. Trunks was worried that Goten was going to loose his temper again. Trunks had been pulling his punches. He was afraid that she was getting too injured and he knew that she had a lot of  important things to do that day. He smirked knowingly, thinking about her upcoming journey. 

Pan attempted to read the look on Trunks' face. "What are you smirking at, pretty boy?" Pan shouted angrily.

Trunks had little time to react before he felt her fist hit his face. The force of the impact threw him back thirty feet and into a tree. The tree snapped in half like a toothpick due to the sudden blow to its trunk…by Trunks. Goten stood over Trunks' fallen body, laughing mockingly at his situation. 

"Can't you even defend yourself against our little Panny?"

Trunks looked up at Goten, a scowl formed across his face. "She caught me off guard." He said through clenched teeth.

"I'm surprised at you." Goten said with great amusement. "I didn't think you'd let yourself get distracted so easily." Then, he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Pan deliver a strong kick to his ribs. He doubled over in pain. "Sheez! I'm going to feel that tomorrow!" he groaned.

"That what you get for calling me your 'little Panny,' snot rag!" 

"So, _who got distracted, Mr. know-it-all?" Trunks said, feeling the need to rub it in Goten's face. _

Goten stood up, and rubbing his painfully sore ribs, he complained, "Looks like I'm going to have to wear a shirt to the beach tomorrow. Marron's not going to like that." Goten looked up and realized that in all his confusion, Pan had disappeared. All of a sudden, he sensed her ki, but before he could react, she sent a strong blast directly towards him. "Getting slow in your old age?" she said, focused on her task at hand.

Goten regrouped and pulled himself into a defensive stance. "Do you honestly think you're ready to handle a full-out battle with me? No holding back, little girl?"

"How dare you call me a little girl!" she screamed. She raised her ki, outraged at what her loving uncle had just said. He knew how to get on her nerves, and it was making her extremely angry. With her anger, she was able to raise it to an all time high. 

As Pan and Goten had a tense stare-down, Trunks yelled from somewhere in the back-round, "You guys, cool off! This is going too far! Someone's going to end up getting really hurt!"

Unfazed by Trunks' warning, they continued their intense staring match. Both were so focused on their challenge-at-hand, that they looked unmovable. Somewhere in the back-round a bird chirped, setting them off, and they charged toward one another. As the battle ensued, they blurred out of sight, unable to be seen by human eyes. Trunks continued to watch from his vantage point, his sharpened vision being an advantage, thanks to his Saiyan heritage. He wasn't sure at which point this friendly spar had become a full-out battle. 

Pan mercilessly threw strong, blinding kicks and punches at her uncle, but she was only able to get a few past his defenses. She got so frustrated, she backed up and threw a powerful ki blast towards him at point blank range. The blast exploded and formed a dark cloud of black smoke around him.  Pan smiled and thought, 'That ought to teach him a good lesson.'

However, as the smoke cleared, Pan saw Goten's form. His arms were up and crossed defensively in front of his face. He slowly lowered his arms and she saw a cruel grin across his face. "Hey, that singed my clothes, but you're going to have to do better than that if you want to defeat me, little girl." 

 He threw a strong ki blast her way. She managed to dodge it, but it exploded right next to her. The force of the explosion threw her backwards in to the storage room. She quickly stood up and rubbed her head, which she had hit, hard. 

"I told you not to call me that!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She put her arms up. With her palms facing outward and her wrists together, she shouted, "Kamehameha!" 

Goten saw the huge stream of energy rushing towards him. He quickly countered with his own attack, but he forgot how weak she was, and he didn't control his ki. The blast sent Pan flying into the time machine/space craft which Bulma had left while conducting tests. Pan's hand flew and struck the keyboard as she fell unconscious and hit the floor. The door closed and the booster rockets fired. Trunks knew what was going on. He had known since before it happened. He quickly ran into the storage room, grabbed Bulma, and covered her with his own body as protection against the huge fire ball which was quickly consuming the storage room. All of a sudden the ship took off, crashing through the roof. Only when Trunks was absolutely sure it was safe, he stood up, allowing his mother to look around. Goten quickly ran in, demanding to know what had happened. 

"Oh no." Bulma said. "Pan was in that ship, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, she was." Trunks said.

"I didn't mean to counter with such a huge blast. I forgot to watch my ki." Goten said remorsefully. 

"Oh, don't worry about Pan, she'll be back. If I were you I'd worry about what to tell Gohan." Trunks said, looking up to the sky as he gave a small smile. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	2. Chapter 3

Title: Waiting (Chapter 3)

Author: The Noseless Wonder 

Disclaimer: All the usual stuff. I don't own Dragon Ball Z or GT *sigh*. I made a      

                    wish that I did, but when I collect the dragon balls and summoned the   

                    Dragon, Shenlong just laughed at me! Stupid lizard!

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan woke up unknowing of where she was or how she got there. All she knew was that she was really sore, and she was lying on something really cold. Her memory was fuzzy, but she seemed to recall Goten going insane while they were fighting. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was a large blast coming towards her and Trunks in the background yelling something. She couldn't hear him well enough to tell what he had said. She looked around the room curiously, trying to regain her senses. It was large and round and there was a computer consul right next to her. She was lying on a cold, hard tile floor. She moved around a little and discovered that her hand hurt a lot. She also felt as if she had hit her head. Looking at the keyboard, she saw that there was blood on it. Pan wondered which wound it was from until she saw her hand. It had a large slash stretching all the way across her palm.

"I must've landed in here and hit the keyboard when Goten blasted me. Jerk, fool-headed, pompous…" and the list went on.

As she rose to her feet, her body protested loudly. She realized that her injuries went far beyond a cut on the hand and a bump on the head. Her hand started to bleed again, so she took her orange bandana out of her pocket and wrapped it gingerly around her palm.

The door was shut, she noticed. This sent an unexplained chill down her spine. Thankfully, she knew how to operate most Capsule Corp vessels. When she couldn't open the door with the computer, she went to go see if she could open it by force. The window in the middle of the door caught her eye. She looked outside the window and received the fright of her life. Instead of a laboratory, or a storage room, she saw stars, billions of them, and they all appeared to blur by out side the window.

A beep from the communicator snapped her out of her fearful freeze. "Please let this be somebody who knows where I am." She prayed. 

Trunks' voice suddenly came over the speakers. "Pan, are you awake yet? Something triggered the floor sensors." His face appeared on the large screen in front of her.

"Trunks? Can you please tell me where on earth I am?" She pleaded.

"Heh, you aren't on earth. You're in space, flying towards a wormhole. You should be there in about 4 days." He said, trying to hide a small smile.

"Wormhole?! I'm in Bulma's time machine aren't I?" She started to panic. This intensified every one of her aches and pains from her injuries. "You'd better not tell me I'm headed back in time seventeen years."

"I'm afraid so, Panny."

"What?! Can't I turn the ship around?! Can't you bring me back?"

"Nope, I'm afraid not. The course was preset. It can't be changed." 

"How long am I going to have to stay there?" She started to feel sick. That, in addition to her injuries, made her want to pass out. 

"It will take a week and four days to get there. Once you're in the past, you have to leave two months later, to the minute. At the end of two months, the ship will take off, with or without you. That's the way mom programmed it."

"What exactly am I supposed to do for 2 months?" She asked.

Trunks blushed, remembering exactly what she _would_ be doing. "Mingle, but don't interfere with the timeline any more than you have to." He replied. 

"What if I _do_ change something?" 

"There are a few bottles of a specially formulated spray that we made up in case something like that happened. It's under the counter. Spray it in a person's eyes to make them forget everything about you. The formula travels through the blood stream to the brain and erases only you from their short-term memory. You'll need to give a sample of blood so the computer can specify memory loss to your DNA." He instructed. "Just put a drop of blood in the square on top of the computer desk. When it's done, add the liquid to the spray bottle." 

"Just on drop? Not a problem." She said showing him the blood-stained bandana.

"You're hurt." His smile vanished.

"Don't worry, it's a lot worse than it looks, thanks to my dear, uncle Goten."

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. He just kind of, weirded out, like before. He calmed down right after he realized what he had done. He's still trying to figure out what he's going to tell your parents. Considering you've been gone for three days, they're probably wondering where you are."

"Three days?! I was unconscious for three days?!" she sat down in the consul chair slowly and put her head forward into her hands. Her head was starting to really pound. 

"Yep. Umm…Pan? There are senzu beans in the counter. I'd eat a couple if I were you. You look pretty beat up." He said with concern.

"You're not so bad yourself." Pan joked. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out the small bag of beans. She popped one of them into her mouth and chewed. Almost instantaneously, she felt better.

"There's a bed and a shower downstairs. There's also some clothes in the closet, but be fore-warned, they're my mom's and my sister's. Oh, and you'll be happy to know that the fridge is full." He joked sheepishly.

"I'm flying around in a space ship all by myself, I was just nearly killed by my uncle for no apparent reason and knocked unconscious for three days, I'm headed back in time, there's no one around who actually knows how to work this flying piece of crap and I'm supposed to be happy that the fridge is full?" She said loudly, making Trunk back down.

"Don't worry Pan, I won't let anything happen to you." Trunks reassured.

"Do you actually expect me to buy that? You're millions of miles away. How exactly are you supposed to protect me?"

"Settle down Pan. Don't go Super Saiyan on me." 

"Last time I had you and Grandpa Goku with me. Now I'm all alone. How am I supposed to feel?" She asked sadly.

Trunks could tell she was scared, but she would never admit it. "You're not alone. I'm here."

"Yeah, for now, but you'll leave eventually. You have a job, remember? Besides, you have to sleep sometime." 

"Well, I have some vacation time coming, so I can stay right here with you, if you want. I'll set up camp right here in the computer room and leave the communicator on, so you can reach me day or night."

"Thanks Trunks, but you really don't have to do that…if you don't want to."

"No worries Pan, you'll be fine. I know you will. Look at it this way, when you get back, you'll probably have some good blackmail on all of us."

"Heh, you're right." She smiled softly, feeling a little better about it and wishing she would have brought her camera.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Goten paced nervously around the living room of his brother's house. Videl could tell something was wrong, but when she asked, he had said that he refused to tell her anything until Gohan got home. He didn't want to have to explain it twice. He had been waiting for Gohan to get off work for an hour…and he was growing more apprehensive by the moment.

"Sit down." Videl said. "You're about to wear a hole in my carpet."

He smiled politely. "So when is Gohan going to get home?"

"He should be home any minute." She said, counting that as the fifth time he asked in the past twenty minutes.

As if on cue, Gohan walked through the door. He slammed the door shut and threw his briefcase down. Goten could tell he was not in a good mood.

"Well, it looks like someone had fun at work today." Videl remarked as she took his jacket and hung it up.

Gohan walked over and kissed his wife lightly on the cheek. "I'm sorry honey. I just had a real stressful day at work."

"Maybe this isn't such a good time." Goten said as he quickly stood up and started heading for the door.

"Oh, hi brother. I'm sorry I didn't see you there. Sit down, let's talk. I could use the friendly company right now." Gohan grabbed Goten's shoulder. A little too tightly, if you'd ask Goten. He ushered him to the nearby couch. "Can I get you something?"

"No thanks. I really have to go soon." Goten said, a sweat drop forming on his forehead. "I just came by to give you some news."

"You should come by more often. I don't get to see as much of you now that you're a married man, little brother."

'Why does he have to be so nice?' Goten thought to himself. 'Maybe he knows what's wrong. Maybe he knows what I did. Maybe he's just being nice to me so I'll relax, and then, when I least expect it, BOOM!' Gohan put his hand on Goten's shoulder and Goten freaked. "Okay! Okay! I admit it! I did it!" He yelled as he snapped out of his seat and backed up as far away as possible from the shocked Gohan.

"Did what?!" Gohan asked, concerned for his little brother's sanity.

Goten could see that he had clearly let his imagination get the better of him, but it was too late. He had dug himself a hole, and now he had to explain everything. "Well, it's about Pan's disappearance..."

"Yeah, I know. She's been doing that a lot lately. Ever since her training. Don't worry, she just does that when she needs to clear her head. She'll be back in a few days."

"Umm…well…that's not really what I mean. See, I was kind of…kind of responsible for it." Goten admitted blocking a punch he was sure would come, but it didn't.

"Well, I know she can get a little over-sensitive at times, but…"

"No, that's not what I mean either. See, I kind of…well, we were sparring and…" that was all Goten could spit out. When he looked up, he saw Gohan and Videl both starring blankly at him.

"Goten, do you know where she is?" Videl asked. Worry was beginning to fill her eyes.

"Y-yeah." He said. He started to savor the air he breathed, and the feeling of having no injuries. He wasn't sure if he'd live to see tomorrow.

"Well?" Gohan was beginning to lose his patience. What scared him was the fact that Goten was so nervous, that he couldn't seem to spit out what he wanted to say. That was very uncharacteristic of him.

"She's-somewhere-in-space-heading-towards-a-wormhole-which-will-take-her-seventeen-years-to-the-past-and-I-was-the-one-responsible-for-her-getting-hurt-and-landing-in-the-ship-Bulma-was-building-which-is-taking-her-there-as-we-speak." Goten had to gasp for air after he said that. He didn't want to stop because he wasn't sure he'd have the courage to get going again. He looked back at Gohan and Videl. Their expressions hadn't changed.

Then, Gohan reached over and put his hand on Goten's shoulder. Goten braced for impact and raised his ki just high enough to survive the initial beating. However, Gohan just chuckled and said, "That was funny Goten. I thought you outgrew the practical joke stage. I'm surprised though, I thought you would have been more creative than that. You should have come up with something more plausible." 

"No, that wasn't funny." Videl said, slapping them both on the back of their heads. "You really had me scared. Do me a favor, next time you see Pan would you tell her to come home and watch Goku for me so I can go shopping?"

"Why can't you just take Goku with you?" Gohan asked, appreciating his daughter's need for space and independence. 

"Because…" Videl walked over to Gohan and put her arm around his waist. With her other hand she grabbed his tie and brought his head down to where she could talk in his ear. "I don't think you would appreciate me taking our son to the kind of store I need to visit. Not on this shopping trip, anyway."

Gohan's jaw dropped slightly as a thin line a red appeared under his eyes and across the bridge of his nose. Goten laughed at his brother's embarrassment. He was still rubbing his head where Videl had hit him, but he was showing a typical Son smile, which made him look like his dad even though his hair was shorter than Goku's.

'Wow.' Goten thought. 'Gohan is embarrassed and Videl is in a really, really good mood. This would be the perfect time for me to make my escape. Who am I kidding? They're probably begging for me to leave. I've even told them the truth, so it's not as if I'm morally obligated. Maybe I can make them think she's on one of her vacations for a whole three months.'

"Well, got to go, bye." He practically ran for the door. He was almost there when his nephew ran him down and somehow managed to jump in his arms. "Jeez Goku, you're getting strong."

"Hi Uncle Goten!" The hyperactive four year-old shouted in Goten's ear. "Is Panny really in space?"

"Well, umm…" He didn't know what to say. He looked over at Videl and Gohan to see if they were still listening. They were listening. In fact, they had one of those goofy-looking "isn't—our—kid—the—most—adorable—thing—on—the—face—of—the—earth—let's—listen—and—see—what—adorable—thing—he'll—say—next" smiles plastered on their faces. Goten didn't know what to say. If he said yes, she was, then Gohan would get mad at him, thinking he was lying to Goku. If he said no, then he really would be lying. He had to say no. He didn't want to, but he had to. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Goku just sat there smiling brightly up at his uncle.

Gohan had been the only real role-model for Goten. Their father, the older Goku, wasn't really around in those days when Goten needed a father the most. He had always taught Goten the value of family… and that you should be honest with them so they can support you, but there he was, lying to his family. What made it even worse was that it was concerning the life of their daughter. What if Pan never came back? What if she died, or was stranded there? When he put that into perspective, he saw how petty his fears really were. 

"Yeah, she _is_ in outer space." Goten looked over and saw his brother's face fall instantly from a smile to a disappointed frown. "Hey, Goku, can you do me a favor bud and go upstairs so I can talk to your parents?"

"Okay." Goku said reluctantly as he climbed out of Goten's arms. He wanted to stay and talk about space.

After Goku was upstairs, Goten began the pain-staking task of explaining everything to his brother and sister-in-law. He sat them down and told them about him loosing his temper and blasting her with an energy beam that he knew was too strong for her. He also tried to explain the quantum mechanics of time travel, but he forgot most of what Bulma had told him, and he didn't understand any of it himself. A few hours later, after he had finished apologizing profusely and begging for forgiveness, he sat back and waited for the beating to begin, but they just sat there, which scared him more than anything.

"Is she okay?" Videl asked, looking like she was going to either pass out or strangle him.

"She's fine. For the next four days we can even talk to her." Goten was trying to make it sound as optimistic as possible. "Trunks assures me that she'll get there and back just fine."

"I want to talk to her." Videl said flatly.

"Yeah, but it's a little late tonight, and considering the Brief's alarm system is set, it's kind of a bad time." Goten said.

"Then we'll get up early tomorrow." The same blank look was still written across Videl's  face. "Goodnight." She stood up, her eyes fixed on some distant point as she walked up the stairs.

Gohan watched her walk up the stairs and to their bedroom. When he heard her close the bedroom door, he turned to face Goten. Goten felt a sudden raise of ki and saw his brother's eyes narrow as he looked dead at him. He swallowed hard.

"Look, Gohan, it wasn't…" he tried to explain, but Gohan cut him off.

"You lost your temper?!" Gohan said through partially gritted teeth. "You simply lost your temper and ended up knocking her unconscious for three days?!"

"Well, it wasn't exactly…" 

"You've done this before don't try to say it was an accident!"

"I talked to Vegeta. He said that I have a new power. It needs to come out, and when I spar, it tries to. It makes me more aggressive, and I end up losing control. He also said, that with proper training, I can control it. Vegeta told me that losing control because of a new power was just part of being Kakarot's son. It was just part of being a Saiyan."

"We're not Saiyans!" Gohan shouted. "You should have been able to control your ki. We're human, and humans don't try to kill their nieces!"

"Gohan, I didn't mean to…"

"Save it. I've heard it all before. Vegeta told you last time that you needed to train, but you haven't. That means that this time, it might as well have been intentional." Gohan bitterly turned his back on Goten and walked up the stairs. "Goodnight." 

Goten took that as an invitation to leave. He was frustrated that he hadn't had the chance to plead his case with Gohan. He let out a sorrowful sigh as he walked out the door.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks was just beginning to dose off. His eyes were fixed on the screen in front of him. It had seemed like forever since Pan had fallen asleep. It had taken some persuading just to get Pan to even go to bed.  If he wouldn't have thought to put a communicator in the bedroom, she probably never would have settled down enough to lay down. She said she would only relax if he promised to turn the communicator on. She didn't like sleeping when she was alone and in a situation like that. If something happened, there would be nobody there to help her through it. 

He had a sleeping bag lying on a cot. It was probably a lot more comfortable than his office chair, but it was slightly out of view from the computer screen. He wanted to watch her and make sure that she was okay. She turned over in her sleep and faced the screen. She looked so peaceful when she slept. He zoomed in to her face. He admired her fair complexion, her cute little nose and her delicately shaped mouth. He never thought that he'd find a woman's facial features so interesting. 

Trunks remembered when Pan was fourteen and they went on the galaxy tour. At that point, she really hadn't changed much since she was a child. She had only gotten taller. Then, something happened when she went off for field training in those three years. He wasn't sure when it occurred, he wasn't even sure when he had first noticed it, but it happened quickly. One minute, she was a snobbish tom-boy, who could probably pass herself off as a boy, if she wanted to. The next minute she was a beautiful woman, who smelled great and had curves in all the right places.

During her training, Pan matured greatly. She was no longer the spoiled, little girl he had come to know. Her personality really hadn't changed, just some of her mannerisms. She was softer, even though she had gone through field training, and she was more feminine. Well, as feminine as Pan could ever want to get. She had grown up.

'She looks like her mother now.' Trunks thought affectionately as he gave a small smile. All together, he felt a sudden urge to be near her, and a craving to hold her while she slept. She looked nice and cozy. Trunks had made sure there was a comfortable bed in the ship. He silently wondered if the time would ever come where he would be lying next to her, keeping her warm. 'I've waited seventeen years for her. I can make it another three months.' Sometime soon after that, he fell asleep. Never leaving the computer consul he was sitting at. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The next morning, Trunks was woken up by the sun shining rudely in his eyes. He could have promised anyone that he had fallen asleep only a moment before. Judging by the time, however, and the fact that he had an imprint of the keyboard on his face, he figured that he got a good four and a half hours sleep. "Pan?" He called, realizing she wasn't in bed. "Pan!"

"Coming!" He heard her call from the bathroom. "Hold on a second." She walked out of the bathroom wearing two towels… one was in her hands, helping her wring out her hair, and the other was wrapped tightly around herself. The towel covered everything important, but not much more. "I saw you were still asleep, so I took a shower. I was going to wake you up, but you looked so peaceful drooling all over your expensive equipment like that."

Trunks just sat there. His jaw had gone slack and he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He hoped she hadn't seen him blush.

"What time did you get to sleep?" She asked, starting to comb out her wet hair. There was no answer. "Trunks?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, um…I guess around three or four." He said, his eyes unable to move from her. 

"Thanks for staying up with me. I won't make you do that again." 

"That's alright. I didn't mind, really." Trunks slapped himself mentally for sounding so eager. 

That happened to be the moment Gohan and Videl walked in. Perfect timing. They had come over first thing in the morning, just as they said they would. 

"Oh, hi Daddy!" Pan said, suddenly becoming aware of how bad the situation must have looked to her parents.

"Pan, that isn't funny." Trunks said, but felt Gohan's ki and quickly realized he really was behind him. "Oh! Hi Gohan! Hi Videl! I guess Goten finally gave you the news?"

"Yeah." Gohan said frowning at the picture. He saw Trunks staring at the image of his daughter in a very small bath towel. What really bothered him, was the fact that Trunks was really jumpy, as if he had done something wrong. The pinkish hue across his face didn't exactly help his case either. 

"Pan, are you all right?" Videl asked as she rushed to the computer screen. She backed up when she got there and gave her daughter a disapproving look.

"Hi mom. I'm fine. I was just going…" Pan was slowly backing up into the bathroom. "…to put some clothes on."

Pan felt bad. She hadn't meant to flirt with Trunks. When she walked out in a towel, she didn't even think anything of it. Trunks had seen more than that when they were traveling together. In fact, she had seen more of both him and her grandfather than she had ever wanted to before. That's just what happened after traveling together in the same small ship for a straight year. Of course, she was a lot less…mature in those days. By the look of things when her parents walked in, they probably thought she was trying to seduce him or something.

Pan had worked through the closet earlier that morning. She had been wearing the same clothes for four days straight, so she figured she had better change. She shuffled through the clothes trying to find something modest. She found some nice clothes, but she didn't think there were two months worth. Everything else was either too revealing, or too small. They were, after all, some of Bulma and Bra's old stuff. Bulma had put some men's clothes in there too, but they were either Trunks' dress clothes, or Vegeta's spandex. The dress clothes would probably look really wrong on her, although she'd most likely use the longer dress shirts for sleep wear. The spandex was too tight. She couldn't imagine how Vegeta could wear that all day, and frankly, she didn't want to try. She walked out wearing the clothes she tried on that fit her the nicest. She chose a gray, v-neck sweater with sleeves that went half way down her arm, and a black skirt that went down to just above her knees.

"Pan, you look adorable." Videl said referring to her daughter's uncharacteristic skirt with a nice top.

"Well, Bulma didn't really leave me with much of a choice." Pan shrugged.

Gohan noticed that Trunks was looking at her, in an admiring fashion, and gave him a death stare. Then, he crossed arms, which made him look even colder than Vegeta. Trunks saw the movement out of the corner of his eyes. He had to do a double take when he turned to see Gohan making a face that seemed to say "I'll—kill—you—if—you—so—much—as—even—look—at—her." 

"I-I'm just going to…g-get some breakfast." Trunks stuttered as he made a timely exit.

Pan and her parents talked for what seemed like hours. About nothing at all. Pan was beginning to regret the fact that it was a communicator with video. Videl saw Pan's interest wavering, so she suggested that they leave. "Well, it's almost time for lunch, so we should go Gohan."

"We can afford to stay another hour or so." He pushed.

"No, Gohan, we have a babysitter, remember?" Videl insisted.

"We'll pay her extra."

"Gohan, I don't have that much cash."

"Then we'll go by the bank." His voice was beginning to rise slightly.

Pan just sat there and watched. When her parents argued like this, it looked like a game of ping pong. She was really wishing that they would leave her alone.

"The banks are closed!" Videl was beginning to lose her patience.

"Videl, I don't think Pan would really want us to leave right now!"

"Actually…" Pan spoke up quickly. "I'll be fine Dad, thanks. Besides, Trunks is here. If I need anything, he can help me."

"Okay. We'll talk to you later Sweetie." Videl said, ushering Gohan out the door. She practically had to hold a gun to his back to get him to leave, especially after Pan's last remark. As they left, they passed Trunks who was on his way back in. Videl gave him a polite goodbye, but Gohan just gave him another scowl.

The next three days went basically the same. Gohan and Videl dropped by twice a day... once in the morning and once later at night. Trunks stayed with her the rest of the time, by her request. He always waited for her to go to sleep before he did, and he made sure he woke up, took a shower and ate before she was out of bed. He normally let her sleep until nine or ten in morning, but on the third day, he woke her up early. 

"Pan?"  He had tried to wake her up softly, but it didn't work. "Pan!"

She groaned and rolled over to face the screen. "Trunks? What's wrong? It's too early."

"You have three minutes to go upstairs and get strapped in." He urgently said.

"Three minutes until what?" She groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes. 

"Until you get to the wormhole."

"What?! No! It's too early!" She shouted, bolting up from her bed. 

"No it's not. It's been a week since you left. Now go strap yourself in, it may be a bumpy ride." He warned. 

She was only wearing one of his long dress shirts, but she didn't bother changing. She quickly ran upstairs and sat down in the chair. She reached over and buckled her safety belt. Just then, the upstairs computer screen turned on and Trunks was in front of her once again. The ship, all of a sudden started to shake and she gripped the edge of her seat.

"Trunks? What's that?" She asked, referring to the shaking.

"Don't worry, the shaking was expected. It just means that you're nearing the edge of the wormhole. Do you want to see it?" He asked.

"No!"

"Don't worry Pan, you'll be fine, trust me."

"Trunks…" The ship started to shake even more violently.

"Pan, I don't know how to say this, but…I…" The screen on Pan's side suddenly went blank as the ship entered the wormhole. The screen on Trunk's side just blurred out. "…love you." He finished too late. 'Stupid machine!' He thought. 'No. It's better that she doesn't know that yet. Now I just have to wait.'

"Trunks, what did you say? Trunks!" She started to sob when she saw that he was gone. "I hope it was nothing important."

The ship shook harder. It made her want to throw up. She didn't know why she was so scared. She had been through something like this before, it just that she wasn't so alone then. She started to taste blood, and she realized that she had bitten her tongue, hard. It started to drip down her chin. That made her even more nauseous. The ship hit one really hard jolt. It caused her head to go flying into the not-so-soft head rest behind her. The last thing she saw was a bunch of flashing lights. Then, everything went black. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	3. Chapter 4

Title: Waiting (Chapter 4) 

Author: The Noseless Wonder

Disclaimer: Do I even need to bother?! Have you or haven't you read the previous 

                    chapters?! I don't own, and didn't create Dragon Ball Z or GT or any of it's 

                   characters!! SO THERE!!! GET A CLUE!!! (Note to self: stop asking evil 

                   twin to write the disclaimer for you.)

Authors Notes: Chapter 4 is kind of a filler. Chapter 5 is when the good stuff starts, so 

                         keep reading.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸

A few hours later, Pan woke up. The next week was going to be the most boring seven days of her life. There would be no one to talk to and nowhere to go. Going through the wormhole disrupted the communicator signals. She couldn't talk to anyone from home now. She already missed talking to everybody. Especially Trunks. She hadn't even gotten the chance to talk to Goten yet. Every time she had asked Trunks to call him for her, Goten said that he was too busy to talk. 

She sighed softly and rested her head in her hands. 'Why am I taking this so hard?' She asked herself. 'It's not as if I've never been alone before.'

When she was training she had things to do to keep her busy when no one was there. It was, after all, field training. Most of her alone time was spent gathering food or exercising. Besides, Trunks was there almost every day. She really wasn't alone that often. 

She even missed those boring conversations with her parents over the communicator. It's funny, her parents weren't that lifeless, when she was with them in person. She missed seeing her little brother too. His birthday was coming up in a week or so. She made a mental note to buy a gift for him while she was there. 

Gohan had been acting a little strange over the phone. Pan noticed that he would get quiet and stern during parts of their conversation. The parts when she talked about Trunks, or when Trunks was there. She realized she talked about him quite a bit, but that was normal. After all he was her best friend. Gohan was just being overprotective about his daughter. He didn't like seeing Trunks with her so much. Pan had reassured him before that she and Trunks would never be more than friends. Obviously, it fell on deaf ears.  

She and Trunks had been through a lot. He had probably just grown to look over her like a big brother. Plus, they had a lot in common, so of _course_ they were going to talk for a while. She was more mature now too, so their conversations had matured as well. He felt more free to talk about what was really troubling him. She liked it that way. They had both lived and grown up in some very tough times. Although, for a saiyan, they figured it was probably normal.

The next week held about as much excitement as she had expected. There weren't a lot of things for her to do. She tried to train, but it didn't do any good. There wasn't a lot of room for her to move around in, and there wasn't a gravitron. She couldn't even manage to become winded. The metal shell of the ship wasn't even strong enough for weak ki blasts either, so there went that idea. Bulma obviously hadn't designed the ship for training. 

There was, however, a stereo and all of her favorite music. Before she had left, she noticed that she was missing several albums… the exact same ones that were there. Curiously, she wondered if someone had packed hers… but why? The same thing happened with the food. It seemed all of her favorite meals were in the fridge or packed away in the cupboards. Pan shoved it in the back of her brain. She didn't care, she was just grateful to have good music to listen to, and great food to eat. After all, Trunks had the same taste in music that she did, so they were probably his albums. As far as the food went, even a 1/ 4 saiyan couldn't afford to be picky, so almost anything edible was her favorite.

There was a blank notebook and a ton of art supplies in one of the drawers. She tried to make the best of it and draw, but she could never get the picture in her head to show up on paper. She also tried to write, but she didn't know what to write about. She tried to write down her feelings, but it always consisted of only a few words: homesick lonely and bored. The computer offered her games to play. She tried computer solitaire, but it got really boring really fast, even if it was in 3D. The rest of the games were even lamer. The only thing that got her through the week was reminiscing. She'd close her eyes and try to relive her past, even if the memories were painful. She also meditated, a trick she had picked up from Piccolo, but that only managed to put her to sleep. Those were the only two things that seemed to really pass the time.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Gohan and Videl were over at the Briefs' home. Goten was there as well. It was the only place they could go that made them feel as if they were actually doing something to bring her back. Gohan was still angry at Goten, but he knew Goten was really sorry. Marron said that he hadn't been his usual, smart-aleck self, that he had seemed almost depressed. He knew what he had done. He had lost his temper, tried to kill her, and then to top it all off, he never even went to talk to her before she got to the wormhole because he was too afraid that she wouldn't forgive him.

Bulma and Trunks were sitting with them at the table in the kitchen. They were trying to explain the temporal and quantum mechanics of time travel. Bra had tried to sit with them. Pan was her friend too… and she was as worried as anyone else… except Gohan and Videl. She tried to stay as long as she could, but when her mom started droning on about physics and time travel, she became tired and went to bed. 

Vegeta had even been there for a while. His interest was on Goten.  The boy had shown that there was a great power inside of him… comparable to Kakkarot's. It was screaming to get out, but instead of training and learning to control it, he simply denied and buried it. The result was an explosion. It had even happened twice. He was sure the boy was going to bury it until he ended up destroying himself. However, when Vegeta heard his wife and son start talking about science, not even food could have kept him at that table.

All was quiet, for the moment. Videl sat next to Gohan and held his hand while she rested her head on his shoulder. He didn't mind, he just rested his head on hers. Goten walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. The look on his brother and sister-in-law's faces made him feel sick. Trunks got up and followed him, worried that the guilt was really getting to him.

"How are you doing?" Trunks asked Goten.

Goten just shrugged. "How am I supposed to be doing?"

"It wasn't your fault, you know?" Trunks assured, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You're just saying that. I'm the one who lost my temper and threw the ki blast. This happened before when I tried to spar and I was dumb enough to do it again."

"Dad said you just have to train and learn to control your new power…"

Goten cut him off, yelling, "I'm not going to train anymore!"

"Do you want to keep your voice down?" Trunks shushed. He pointed to the couch where four year-old Goku Jr. lay, fast asleep.

"No more training." Goten continued more quietly. "No more sparring either. Not even with Vegeta or my dad. I just want to get a normal job and start a family with my wife."

"Do you even care? With proper training my dad said you could be stronger than him or even Goku."

"No, I don't care. Not if means hurting the people I love. Besides, it's not like our dads aren't strong enough to defend the earth themselves."

"But if you don't train, you'll blow up, and who knows who you'll end up hurting next. It might end up being someone who can't defend themselves as well as Pan."

Goten glared at Trunks, but he knew he was right. "I really don't want to argue with you about this."

"Okay." Trunks said, backing off.

There was an awkward silence in the room for a while. Goten just kept looking at Goku Jr. He'd rather have one of _those_ and take care of him instead of fighting. Something kept gnawing at Goten's brain though. He figured he might as well ask Trunks about it since he was there. He'd do anything to change the subject. 

"Trunks, I was kind of wanting to ask you something…" He said suspiciously, turning to look him in the eyes.

"Sure, shoot." 

"Well, I've noticed that you've been spending a lot of time with Pan lately..."

"Yeah, I mean, my best bud's an old married man now. Who am I supposed to hang out with?" Trunks asked, not really getting the point of Goten's question, even though it was right in front of his face. 

"It's just that… well, Bra said you spent all your time the last week in front of the computer screen talking to her, even at night. She also said that you had skipped work to _be with her_." Goten said, emphasizing the last words and hoping Trunks would get the point.

Something clicked and Trunks started to get the point of this particular discussion. 'He couldn't possibly know. Could he?' Trunks thought. He was becoming very grateful for the darkness of the living room, that way, Goten couldn't see the crimson, which was quickly overcoming his face. "She wanted company. She was freaked out… Who wouldn't be?" He said innocently, smiling. 

"Trunks, I just have to know. I am her uncle, after all. Is there anything going on between…" Goten was interrupted when Gohan walked into the room. Out of sympathy for his friend, the conversation ended there.  

"Goten, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked. The last thing Goten wanted at that moment was to talk to Gohan, but Trunks was grateful for the interruption, so he left.

"We'll talk later." Goten said as Trunks walked out the door. 'Was that my imagination, or was that a blush on his face?'

"Was I interrupting anything?" Gohan asked when he saw Goten narrow his eyes at Trunks.

"No. We were just talking about Pan."

Gohan was silent as he walked across the room to the couch where Goku lay. He took a blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over his son. Goku turned in his sleep and groaned softly. Gohan smiled, he often denied it, but everyone was right. Goku Jr. looked exactly like Gohan did at that age. Although, at that age, Gohan was out in the wilderness alone, and his father was dead. He was glad his son didn't have to go through that.

Goten saw the look of pride on Gohan's face as he watched Goku sleep. His stomach started to ache. He knew how much Gohan was worried about Pan. "Gohan, I never really explained my actions."

"You don't have to." Gohan said. "Vegeta explained everything after the first time, I just don't see why you let this happen again." 

"I didn't mean to. It was just that I lost my temper and my ki flared without my intent." Goten argued.

"I know, but you could have prevented it. Vegeta and Dad were both willing to train and teach you how to control yourself with this new power. You could be stronger than me, Vegeta or even Dad, but you won't train."

Goten rubbed his forehead with his hand. He was starting to get very frustrated. Was it his imagination or had he heard the same thing fifty times that same day? "I don't want to train." He began the same argument over again.

"Why not?"

"Marron and I want to start a family. With a kid, I just don't think I'll have the time."

"You and Marron weren't trying after the first time, were you?" Gohan asked with an eyebrow raised. After all, everyone knew that they had been seeing each other before Trunks and Marron actually broke off the engagement.

"No!" Goten stated defensively. 

"Besides, you're not the one giving birth. Even if she does get pregnant, you'll have nine months before the kid is born."

"I just don't want to train." Goten said, frustrated, when he realized his first excuse hadn't worked. "I have no desire to be the strongest."

Gohan sighed with discomfort. He had a feeling he knew where this conversation was headed. "Is this because of Dad?"

Goten looked like he was about to defensively counter, but his head dropped, giving Gohan the answer he had expected.

"I didn't even know he existed until I was six or seven. He might as well have been Santa Clause, or the Easter bunny. I only knew about him what people told me. I couldn't understand because people said he was in heaven, but that he was coming back. All I ever saw of him was pictures. Then he came back, only to leave again to train somebody else when he should have been training _me_. Then he came back _again_ and I _thought_ that we were going to make up for lost time… he even trained me for a little while before he went off again…  The only chance I had to really get to know him was 'stolen' by my niece. Then he died again, but he came back because everyone was willing to lose the dragon balls in exchange for his earthly body. Now the dragon balls are gone, and even though I'm glad to have him back…"  

"I know." Gohan sympathized. "I feel the same way. If we train and become strong, we'll be the ones on the front line for the next battle. Now that the dragon balls are gone, we can't be wished back if we die. Trust me, I want to be there for my children as much as you do. I would like to live to see Goku go Super Saiyan and graduate college. I'd like to be there to walk Pan down the aisle at her wedding."

"I just want to be able to raise my children. I don't want to die before I even get to hold them."

Gohan put his hand on his brother's shoulder supportively. "That's not going to happen. I'll be there with you fighting. Besides, it's not really fair for us to keep shoving everything on Dad's shoulders all the time."

"Would you train with me?" Goten asked quietly.

"Yeah." Gohan said, suddenly seeing the image of his six year-old brother asking the same thing.

"Because you haven't trained in a while and you're kind of getting soft." He jokingly poked Gohan in the side as if there was a spare tire there or something. "With your old age, I'm a little concerned that you won't be able to keep going when it gets tough." 

"I probably do have some catching up to do. I just hope I won't have to wear spandex again." They both laughed as they walked back towards the kitchen. "I'd better get Videl home. I bet she's asleep by now."

"Gohan, do think my second kid will look like me if it's a boy?" He asked, looking back at Goku Jr. 

"Probably, that tends to be the pattern in our family."

"Don't you think that would be a little weird, having three generations of men in our family that look exactly alike?"

"No." Gohan said. "We'll just have to buy the poor boy some surgery."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan had been counting down the minutes all morning. She was finally about to land. As she looked out the window, she saw the earth grow gradually. She was sure she had never seen a more beautiful sight. The ship fell through the atmosphere and nearly halted as it got close to the ground. Pan's anticipation grew. The last week had been boring and lonely. Now she could get out and move around. She still had to be as quiet as possible, but at least she got to be around people. The ship finally came to a complete rest on the ground. She waited a few moments before she jumped, just to make sure that it was safe.

Pan figured it was safe to move when the engines stopped. She quickly got out of her seat and ran to the window. To her, the view outside the window was breathtaking. The ship landed in the middle of a forest. There were lots of trees, but she could see the sun shining through them. She was back on earth. She wasted no time simply looking at the pretty picture. The temptation was too great. The door opened and a wave of fresh, pine-scented air rushed in and filled the small room. The temperature seemed to be just right, and there was a light breeze. The sky beckoned to her.

Pan ran as fast as she could to the bedroom and changed into her sweats and a tank top. It took less than a second before she was changed and out the door. She breathed in deeply as she took off in flight. At that moment, the past week disappeared completely. All she thought about was how good the wind felt in her hair. She was soaring high over the land when she spotted it, Satan city. 

The ship must have been pre-programmed to land near the city, but not anywhere in plain view. A smile slowly spread across her face as she stopped. Capsule Corporation was near here. Should she stop by? No, she wasn't supposed to interfere with the past, but she would have to make a point of snooping around before she left. How old were they now? Her younger self was around eight, Bra was probably nine or ten, Goten was twenty-one, Marron was nineteen or twenty and Trunks was twenty-two. She laughed, there were definitely some good blackmail opportunities here.

Suddenly, she felt two strong ki's. They were Goten and Trunks'. She would know those power signatures anywhere. Something clicked in her mind making her realize that if she could sense them from where she was, they could sense _her_ from where they were. She slapped herself mentally for forgetting to hide her ki that entire time. Flying probably gave off her exact location. Vegeta would surely know she was there, unless he was distracted. If he were paying attention, however, he'd be there by now. She counted her blessings and landed, pushing her power level down as far as it would go. She turned to start walking back, but as she stepped forward, a figure blocked her path.

The figure was familiar to Pan. The weighted clothing, the height, the green skin, the turban, it couldn't be anyone else. Pan chuckled nervously.

"Good day Mr. Piccolo." She greeted. He didn't move or make a sound. He just stood there with his arms crossed looking mean, like Piccolo usually does. "It's nice out, isn't it? Perfect for meditating or training. I bet the water tastes really good today." He still just stood there. She suddenly became nervous about her father's former sensei. "Well, nice talking to you, but I have to be going now."

She rushed to leave, but Piccolo grabbed the back of her shirt. If he wasn't asexual, she might accuse him of something. She knew he wasn't going to let her go anywhere without her telling him everything. It suddenly became hard to swallow. If he didn't believe her, he might get angry thinking she was lying. 

"Who are you?" He said with his eyes narrowed and his K-9 teeth barring. 

Pan was reluctant, to say the least. "Who do I look like? I'm a twenty-five year-old woman on her way home after visiting the city." She chuckled nervously again. There was no way he was going to buy that. She had called him by name. In addition, she had reacted normally to seeing a tall, green man from outer space.

She was right. He didn't buy it, he just increased his grip on her shirt. "How do you know about me? And why is your ki so strong?"

Pan figured she might as well go ahead and tell him. She could always use the spray on him… and it's not as if he normally talks to anyone but her dad anyway. "Well, I believe you know my father."

"Who is he?!" Piccolo's voice was loud and angry. He was quickly loosing his patience. 

"Son Gohan."

"What?!" He wasn't sure if he believed her. He knew Gohan had a kid, but he didn't think she'd be this old already. "How?"

"I'm his daughter, from the future."

"From the future? Great." He said releasing her from his grip. "What happened now?"

"Nothing…happened…" She said, not quite understanding what he had meant. "I'm kind of here by accident."

"By accident?"

"It's kind of a long story. Come with me, I need to show you something on the ship anyway. I can tell you while we walk."

Piccolo went with her, but he suspected something was up. She told him the entire story. He wasn't surprised when he heard the part about Goten having hidden powers. He knew all too well about Gohan having mysterious fighting capabilities. Why wouldn't his younger brother have them too? He was, however, surprised that Pan had gone super saiyan level two. He didn't think that the girl would have had the power, or the strength. He figured it was just one of the advantages of being Gohan's daughter and Goku's granddaughter. 

They got to the ship all too soon. She went inside, but he just waited outside, annoyed that she couldn't tell him what was so important on the way.

"I found it." She said after coming back out.

"Well, what is it?" 

She was amazed at how similar Piccolo could be to Vegeta sometimes, despite the fact that they hated each other. "It's right here." She took a peak at the instructions just to make sure, then she pulled the can from behind her back. She sprayed it directly into his eyes, but nothing happened. He didn't even flinch, he just stood there with his arms crossed. 

She started to back up. Now she had really ticked him off, but he wouldn't kill Gohan's daughter, would he? "It didn't work! This was supposed to make you forget about me." She slapped her forehead with her hand. "I guess Namekian physiology is really different from a human's." She chuckled nervously. "Piccolo, if you tell anyone that I'm here…"

"I'm not stupid. I'm well aware of the ramifications of changing the past." He said. His expression turned darker, if that were possible. "I would stay put if I were you. Also, stop being so sloppy with your ki. I would think that any child of Gohan's would know better than that." He took off into the sky.

Pan leaned up against the ship and hit her head purposely, but harder than she would have liked to. If anyone else besides Piccolo or Vegeta said that, she would have been offended. She knew he was right. She didn't want to, but she was going to have to stay on the ship. The only excuse she had to leave the ship was to go look for her brother's birthday gift and go grocery shopping. She had been scared for her life before, but this was the only "adventure" she ever went on where she thought she would die from boredom.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	4. Chapter 5

Title: Waiting 

Author: The Noseless Wonder 

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother. Just read the previous chapters. I'M TOO LAZY!!

Authors Notes: I'm sorry it took so long, but there is a lot of this chapter to make up for            it. Chapter 5 is fiiiinnnalllly ready. (Thanks to the people who threatened to kill me)        

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Back in the future, Goku Jr. was planning his fifth birthday party. Much to his parent's 'delight' he seemed to enjoy running around the house screaming, "It's my birthday tomorrow! It's my birthday tomorrow!" He was very excited with the new responsibilities he would be facing as a five year-old. It meant that he would get to stay up until 8:30 and that he could answer the phone as long as there was somebody home. 

Gohan and Videl wanted a small celebration, just the three of them, but Pan was supposed to be there too, which made Goku Jr. sad. However, Chichi knew that her grandson's birthday was coming up. There was no way she was going to let one of her grandchildren go without her patented birthday feast and a cake to match. Gohan argued with his wife that Chichi lived for those kinds of events and Goku was his name sake, you couldn't just tell them not to come.

Videl reluctantly made the call, but she found out from Chichi that Ubuu was staying with them on a visit. It didn't really make a difference to Videl, she and Gohan didn't know him very well, but Chichi insisted. She had said that she didn't want to be a bad hostess by leaving him alone in their house while they were gone, so the list grew to 

six people. Then, Chichi started asking about Goten and Marron. They hadn't been invited and Chichi was wondering why. It was her "subtle" way of criticizing Videl for forgetting about the rest of her family. Videl caved, so the list grew to eight people.  

After talking to Chichi, Videl became very angry. She said a polite good-bye, but slammed the phone down on the receiver. Gohan saw that the talk with his mother had ticked his wife off and stressed her out. He came up behind her, wrapped his strong arms around her waist and kissed her lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I know my mom can be tough sometimes." The bass in his voice and the breath from his mouth tickled her ear. She loved it when he did that, but she would never tell him. He'd probably just use it as a way to get out of trouble. He brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her ear. His lips traveled slowly across her jaw-line and over her cheek, giving her small kisses as she talked.

"It's not completely your mom. It's just that there's going to be a lot of people here, when we wanted to keep it simple. I don't exactly feel like celebrating one child's birthday, when my other child could be lost or even dead." She said.

He stopped kissing her and rested his head on her shoulder. "I know, I'm as worried about her as you are, but Trunks said she was going to be fine."

"You believe him?" She asked, sort of shocked that Gohan was siding with Trunks.

"I'm probably going to regret it later, but yes, I do."

"Momma, is Panny dead?" A young voice asked from behind. 

Videl nearly jumped out of her skin. Did he hear all of that? Once more, had he _seen_ all of that? She turned around and kneeled to give her son a hug. Goku Jr. refused her open arms at first, but he broke down quickly and jumped into her hug. She could tell he was crying by the sharp breaths he was taking.

"No honey, Panny isn't dead." She said in attempt to comfort him. "I was talking too much and making myself worry more. I always talk too much when I'm worried about somebody. In fact, I worry like that every time you're late getting home, that's why I get so angry at you." 

"Momma, if it will make you worry less, we can skip my birthday this year." He said, his tears still flowing freely.

Videl felt as if she would break down and cry herself. Not only had she made her youngest and only son upset, but she had made him feel like a burden as well. "No, we are not skipping your birthday this year! How often does a guy get to turn five?"

"I won't enjoy my birthday if you're sad." Goku Jr. said, drying his tears with his sleeve. 

"I won't be sad, I promise. Tell you what, if there was one person you could invite to your party, who would it be?" She asked.

Goku had to think for a while. "Is Grandpa coming?"

"Yep."

"Is Uncle Goten coming?"

"Yep."

"How about Trunks?" 

"Well," She said. "We can invite him."

"Bra too?"

"You want to invite both of them?" She looked at his puppy dog eyes. Everyone knew he had a five year-olds version of a crush on Bra. As for Trunks, he was like another uncle or an older brother to Goku. She caved once again. "Okay, both of them can come."

Goku gave his mother one more hug and then jumped out of her arms to give Gohan a hug too. He ran out of the room as happy as could be. Videl let out a tiresome sigh as she stood up again.

"How many does that make now?" Gohan asked.

"Twelve." She counted.

"Twelve?" He wondered where the high number came from, counting names on his fingers.

"You can't just invite the Briefs' kids without inviting the Briefs."

"Great, Vegeta will be here. He'll probably just criticize everyone for not training enough." He said. "Why not invite Krillin and Eighteen as well?"

"Be grateful they're on vacation, or we might have had to." She laughed. She returned to her husband's arms and sighed. She was still worried, and a little stressed, but she felt better, thanks to her son.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan had really tried to do what Piccolo had told her. It was the right thing to do. Just sit in the ship and don't talk to anyone or go anywhere. She knew that she would end up changing something in the timeline if she went out and snooped as much as she had wanted. She made herself settle down and be content with the surroundings she had, but she was getting major cabin fever. The contentment lasted for about two minutes before she gave up and started pacing around outside. 

Maybe a little trip to the street mall wouldn't hurt. She knew it still had to be there, she couldn't remember when it wasn't. She had to shop for Goku Jr.'s birthday present anyway, so that would give her the chance to get out and move around. Besides, what were the chances that she would run into somebody she knew? Surely no one would recognize her as a twenty-five year-old instead of an eight year-old. She ran inside and started to get ready. There was no way she was going to stay cooped-up all day.

After some consideration and planning, she decided to wear something more effeminate than her usual wardrobe. Besides, it's not as if she had much to choose from. When she wore Bulma's old clothes she hardly recognized herself in the mirror, and with a little make-up and her hair up, she looked like a different person. 

She put on the same black skirt she had on the first day she was awake after the ship took off into space. The one that went down to just above her knees. Pan wasn't used to skirts. She would have to remind herself to sit with her legs crossed or her knees together. Then, she had to select a blouse. She wanted to wear one that didn't reveal a lot, which narrowed down the selection greatly. The only one that was still clean, was black and it had spaghetti straps. She hated spaghetti straps. They made her feel as if she was walking around in her bra. There was, however, a thin, white over-shirt she could wear. It was somewhat transparent, but it made her feel better.

After the clothes came the most difficult part: picking a pair of shoes. Her old and dirtied tennis shoes really didn't coordinate well, and the boots Bulma left in the ship were even worse. She chose a pair of black, satin, one and a half inch heeled dress shoes. They were even thick, which would help her maintain her balance. 

She put some make-up on, not very much though. She still wanted to look a little natural. Then, she put her hair up in a twist. Pan was surprised that she remembered how to do that. The last time she really had to dress up was for her college graduation, and her mom had helped her then. She was annoyed with her outfit. The entire ensemble was inconvenient and uncomfortable. The skirt was hard to sit in, the shoes were hard to walk in and the make-up made her face feel stiff and dirty.     

Pan was on her way out the door when she passed by a mirror. She hardly recognized herself and scoffed at the soft, effeminate image, but then she noticed something… The blouse and the skirt clung to her, showing off her curves and her well-toned physique nicely. The shoes improved the look of the muscle tone in her legs, and the shorter skirt allowed it to be seen. Maybe dressing up once and a while wouldn't be so bad... 

Once outside, Pan took a small case out of her bag and picked out a capsule. She pushed the button on top and threw it to the ground. It instantly became a shiny, new black convertible. She had wanted to choose a hover bike, but it would have been inappropriate with a skirt on. It was bad enough not being able to fly, so she didn't want to pin herself into a stuffy car. A hover convertible would have to do. 

Bulma had left a few thousand zeni cash in the ship. Pan was grateful, but she didn't know how long it was going to last with her saiyan appetite and lack of reasonable things to wear. She'd better not shop too much. There had to be something else to do on the planet that didn't involve spending money.

Driving in a convertible was probably one of the next best things to flying, but it was taking too long. It would have taken Pan five minutes to fly to the mall, but it was taking forty-five just to drive there. She had to stop at a lot of stop lights on the way, but as she got closer to the town, she noticed she was starting to attract attention. She stopped at one light and cringed as a truck full of teenage boys started whistling and making cat-calls at her. Once the light turned green the boys seemed to settle down. However, the harassment wasn't over. The car in back of them was filled with teenage girls, who were obviously with the boys ahead of them. The girls yelled and cussed her out. Pan just glared at them. She was so tempted to just blast both of the cars to pieces, but she held back.

As soon as Pan finally lost the teenagers, she stopped at another red light. There was a man in the passenger seat who was giving her strange looks and mouthing words at her. He made a sound like a cat purring, and she finally figured out what he wanted. Pan was appalled. The woman in the driver's seat was obviously his wife or girlfriend, but that didn't stop him from hitting on her. The woman who was driving quickly noticed the man who was noticing Pan. She hit him over the head, hard, then began screaming at him. Then she turned to Pan, who was sinking down into her seat, and yelled something unintelligible at her. Pan didn't hear what the woman had yelled, but she wasn't sure that she had wanted to. She just sank farther down into her seat and gunned it when the light turned green again.

'I can't understand how Bra likes dressing up like this. I wonder if those kinds of things happen to _her_ very often.' She thought. She pulled up to the mall and looked around. 'No parking spots? Oh well, I'm just glad I'm driving a Capsule car.' She was reluctant to get out of the car. After what had happened to her on the way there, she was wishing she had a pair of sweats. She got out of the car and pushed the button on the dash. Instantly, the car turned back into a capsule.

She looked around the mall. She figured she had better stick to the toy stores for Goku Jr., but she wanted to get something for her mom and dad too. There were plenty of stores to choose from. The street mall was a lot livelier than it was twenty years in the future. She noticed there were more stores, probably because the street mall was so new and exciting to everyone. 

She managed to shop through most of the stores. She found an old music album that her mom had been looking for, and a tie that she knew her dad would love because it had been out of style for a long time. For her little brother's birthday, she got him a video game. It fastened around the ear and it had a plastic visor that went in front of the player's eyes. It looked very much like one of Freezer's scouters. The characters in the game were controlled by sensors that hook around the player's fingers. A movement by one finger would cause the characters to make a certain motion. It was a really old game, but it was new to Goku, so Pan knew he would love it. 

After two hours of shopping, Pan was utterly exhausted. She was also very hungry, so she set out to find a good place to eat and rest her feet that wasn't going to cost her a ton of money.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The ice cream parlor was virtually quiet, with exception of the loud racket in the corner. There weren't a lot of people there. For a warm summer day, it should have been crowded. The people who _were_ there were just letting their ice cream melt as they sat and stared at the cause of all the racket in the corner.

There were four people in the far booth who were the source of the problem. Two of them were consuming mass amounts of ice cream. The other two were eating like normal people, but they acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. There were three guys. One of them had black, spiky hair, the other had a lavender bowl cut, and the other had red, curly hair. There was also a girl with blonde hair sitting between them. 

The storekeeper was looking at them strangely. They were the reason his business was going down. Everyday, the same four people would come in and order the same things. The girl and he red-headed boy would order sundaes, like normal people. However, the two other guys would order two or three Monster Sloshy's a piece. A Monster Sloshy was basically a sundae, except it was made with four quarts of ice cream and a half a gallon of chocolate syrup. The sheer volume of their consumption, plus the level of their voices, would drive all of the other customers out. 

The store owner couldn't just throw them out. They always paid well more than they owed for the food. Unfortunately, it just didn't make up for the business that he lost. He eventually just decided to give them dirty looks every time they came in, hoping they would get the point and leave. However, the blonde girl seemed to be the only one who noticed. 

"…then he yelled at us and called us brats, so we mooned him." The lavender-haired guy said. The three men laughed loudly as the girl politely smiled at the store-owner. She was just hoping that he wouldn't call the police.

"Guys, we should keep our voices down. I think the store owner's getting mad." She said. 

"Lighten up Marron." Trunks said. "It's not like we haven't paid."

After that, the crowd still quieted down. They didn't want to be thrown out of their favorite hang-out. "Is that all you did when you were younger, beat people up and then moon them?" The you red-headed man asked.

"Only if they deserved it." Goten said. "Besides, we were just following our calling." 

Trunks rolled his eyes at the "calling" remark. He didn't consider a genetic handicap a calling. They had to fight, it was in their blood. If they didn't fight, they would probably feel bored or depressed. "Speaking of calling, what are you going to do when you get to West City, Dex?" 

"I thought I would stay with my sister until I can get the new Capsule lab up and working. She just got married, but she said I could stay with her and her husband until I got things settled." 

"When are you leaving again?" Marron asked.

"In two days." The young man replied.

"Wow, has it really been that long since you found out you were getting transferred in the first place?" Trunks asked.

"Well, your mom really didn't leave me with that much time, but I guess when Bulma Briefs makes a decision she acts quick." 

"Yep." Trunks shook his head knowingly. "That's my mom."

"Well, we're going to go out and have a goodbye bash before you leave, right?" Goten said.

"Yeah, whatever." Dex said, seemingly half enthused. 

Suddenly the four became real quiet. Goten had his eyebrows furrowed and he had stopped eating. Trunks could tell he was lost in thought.

"Don't think too hard Goten. You might hurt yourself." Trunks joked.

Goten didn't even seem to hear the insult. "Your sister is the fourth person I know who has gotten married this month." 

"We're young, it's just that time of life." Marron stated.

"Yeah, but it makes me feel rushed. My mom's trying to set me up with girls now. I told her that I have no interest in getting married unless I could find the right girl myself." Goten looked at Marron, hoping for some kind of a response, but she just sat there and ate her sundae. 

"I have no interest in getting married at all." Trunks said. "Taking care of a woman and children would just get in the way."

"Get in the way of what?" Marron asked.

"Freedom, independence, life, fun." He replied.

"Yeah, right." Marron laughed. "I bet that if the right girl walked through that door right now, she'd have you wrapped around her little finger."

"Nope." He defended. "Not me, bachelor for life."

"Famous last words." Marron mumbled.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan managed to juggle her packages as she combed the mall for a good place to eat. She was just about to give up when she noticed a sign for her old favorite hang-out.

"Sloshy's!" She said to herself. "I haven't been there since I was fourteen." Her and her friends had gone there all the time before the galaxy tour, but when she got back, the place was closed down. She worked her way through the crowds and into the ice cream parlor. Every aspect of the place drove her into reliving a thousand memories. She set her packages down and hurried over to the counter. 

"What can I get you Miss?" The store owner was delighted just to have a customer. 

"A Monster Sloshy." She could usually down two or three easily, but she was trying to save money.

"Another one?" The owner said disappointedly. "What is it with you kids and your appetites these days?" 

Pan took no offense to what he had said. She just smiled and paid him. She was glad that she had set the packages down before. She had forgotten that it took two hands to carry one of those things. 

"Hey, look." Marron said pointing. "Someone else ordered a Monster Sloshy."

Goten turned to look. "Something tells me she's not going to be able to finish that." He said when he saw the petite girl slowly consuming the huge sundae. "I don't think she knew what she was getting into."

Trunks turned to see what the big deal was about. A small smile formed on his lips when he saw her. She was sitting in a chair with her legs crossed. One of her shoes was off her foot and dangling from her toe. 

As his eyes slowly traveled upward, he noticed that she was very tone for someone who ate so much ice cream. His eyes continued up to her face. She was savoring every bite of that sundae as well as she could. The thing was probably going to melt before she got half way through with it. Her eyes closed with every bite as the chocolate sundae didn't even seem to shrink. 

She had dark hair that was piled up on top of her head, and her blue eyes were sparkling brightly. She looked incredible to him. He had to meet her. He got up from the table and wiped his mouth while checking his breath. He took one more look at the reflection in his spoon, just to make sure.

"Where are you going?" Goten asked.

"I'm just going to find out who she is." He replied.

"See?" Marron asked. "That just proves my point. How do you honestly expect to stay single if you go this girl-crazy over a complete stranger?"

Trunks just ignored Marron's previous comment and made his way over to the woman's table. He continued on his mission, even though he could clearly see that she was enjoying her ice cream and probably did not want to be disturbed. She didn't even seem to notice him as he approached her table, so he sat down.

Pan heard the seat across from her squeak as someone sat down in it. 

"Hi." A man's voice coyly greeted from across the table. 

'Great. Another guy trying to pick me up just because I'm wearing a skirt. I just wanted to enjoy my ice cream.' Pan thought. She tried to think of the quickest way possible to dump this particular jerk so she could finish eating her sundae in peace. "Look, I'm sorry, but I…" She stopped dead in her tracks when she looked up to see what particular jerk was sitting across from her. 

She started to panic. 'Oh no! Does he recognize me?' She thought, but then she noticed something. Those sharp, heart-piercing blue eyes had never looked at her that way before. She knew that look. She had seen him give it to other girls, but she never thought she would get that look from him herself. That look and that stupid smirk were always used when he wanted to pick up a girl. Then something dawned on her...

'He's not trying to pick up a girl, he's trying to pick up me!' She thought. 'I'm being hit on by Trunks Briefs!' After realizing the severity of the situation, Pan just wanted to leave. It was starting to get awkward, even though she was enjoying this unusual form of attention Trunks was giving her, but if this was a joke, she was going to make sure he would pay.  

"So, are you new in town?" Trunks asked,  obviously unsure of how to break the ice.

'Whoa, nice line!' Pan laughed to herself. She wasn't sure of what to say. She had never talked to him in this way before. It was a little weird. Usually, they just talked about fighting, his work, or life in general. She had no idea how to flirt at all, let alone with one of her best friends.

"In a way." She finally said out loud. "I've been her before though. I have relatives that live here."

There was a pause that seemed to last forever. Trunks seemed very uncomfortable and nervous, even though he was trying to put a front of suave and confidence. Pan decided that this was definitely not a joke. 'What happened to Mr. Lady's Man?' She wondered. 'I thought Trunks was supposed to be the Don Juan of southern Japan.' Pan was ready to get up and leave, which was pretty bad considering she always wondered what would happen if he talked to her this way.

"Well," Trunks finally spoke up. "My friends and I were just about to go downtown. We could show you around, if you'd like. It's just a little walk away."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"We were not." Goten said quietly from their table across the room.

"We weren't what?" Marron asked, unable to hear the conversation herself.

"Trunks just said that we were about to go downtown."

"I thought you were going to help me pack." Dex complained.

"We are. Now shut up and let me listen." Goten snapped.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

That drew the line for Pan. It was getting too weird. Did he just ask her out? Or was going out with a group even considered a date? She wasn't experienced with this kind of relationship. She put her spoon down, regretful that she only got to eat a small portion of her sundae. "Actually, I've got to get these packages back. It's my little guy's 

fifth birthday, but thanks for the offer."

"Oh, your son?" Trunks asked, disappointedly. 

Pan heard Goten slap his own forehead with his hand, then whisper what Trunks had just said to Marron. Pan knew Goten could hear every word that was being said, even across the room. He was, after all, half Saiyan. Pan had stifle a chuckle herself when she heard Marron and the red-headed boy she didn't recognize burst out laughing.

"He's my younger brother." Pan said.

Trunks' mouth went slack and a thin line of crimson appeared on the bridge of his nose. "I… didn't mean to… imply… I…um…oh..." Was all he could manage to get out of his mouth as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Do you need help with your bags?"

Pan stood up and threw her trash away. She felt bad for him. She was even as embarrassed as he was, she was just able to hide her blush. "No thanks. I've got them." She just wanted this whole thing to be over with. She would have to come back though, so she could spray him with that memory stuff. It would be better if he forgot her visit all together. "It was nice meeting you." She turned to walk out the door. 

In desperation, Trunks rushed in front of her, stumbling over a chair in the process, and extended his right hand. "By the way, I'm Trunks Briefs."

Pan set her bags back down on the table. She frantically searched for an alias. She couldn't just tell him her real name, even if he wasn't going to remember her. She picked the first one she saw off the sign in front of a bar across the mall, and crossed her fingers, hoping he would buy it. "Kara." She shook his hand. "Kara Oakie."

Trunks, again out of desperation, turned her hand over and kissed it. He didn't want her walking out the door thinking he was a total loser. "Good night…Kara Oakie." He said, finally showing the smoothness and suave she had been expecting from the beginning.

She gave him a bright smile. She hadn't been expecting that from Trunks. "Goodnight…Boxer Boy."

Trunks was blushing brightly, but smiling as Pan walked out the door. As soon as she got out of sight, she ducked behind some plants so she could listen. Her hearing was pretty good too, she just hoped no one would hear her laughing. 

Trunks walked back to the table. He was smiling, and acting pretty sure of himself. He just knew that he had left a mark on that young girl's heart. Everyone at the table was silent as Trunks approached and sat down. That is, until Goten, in a mimicking fashion, asked "So, are you new in town?"

Everyone at the table burst out laughing. "Oh, is that your son?" Marron asked mockingly.

Trunks glared at them. "I think the last part made up for that. She really seemed to like me."

"Hey, you're right." Goten joked. "Making fun of someone's name is a definite sign of interest."

Everyone laughed again. The shop owner's annoyance was quickly returning. 

"Hey, I got her name didn't I?" He pointed out.

"Yeah." Marron said. "I think you should start picking out your kid's names now. You know, so there's no rush?"

Trunks just put his head in his hands. They were right, he had acted like a complete idiot. There was no way he was ever going to see her again, unless he looked for her himself.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan was still laughing as she got back in her capsule car. She would have paid any amount of money to have had a tape recorder for that. She drove slowly. She was enjoying the night air and the smell of the woods. She had been cramped up in that ship for way too long. 

When she got back to the ship, she threw down the packages and collapsed on the bed. She was grateful to be back. She smiled in remembrance of what had happened earlier, but it kind of made her sad. It proved her theory was right. It meant that if she and Trunks were around the same age, they might have had something. It meant that Trunks really _did_ just see her as a little girl. 

She closed her eyes, ready for sleep. She still had on the uncomfortable clothes that she had worn earlier, but her body was making a convincing argument just to lay there. Slumber was quickly overtaking her.

A shadow crossed over her. It was blocking the room light. At first, she thought that she was just really tired, but she opened her eyes, just to make sure. The figure that stood above her almost made her jump out of her skin. She screamed, loudly. Piccolo covered his ears due to the sheer volume and pitch of the girl's voice.

"Don't do that to me!" She yelled. "Don't you think it's a little strange to just walk into a woman's bedroom unannounced?" 

Piccolo just gave her a strange look. Of course he wouldn't have thought anything of it, Pan wasn't even sure he knew what a girl was.

"Get up." He said in his usual impersonal voice.

"Why?" Pan asked, getting really annoyed with her teacher.

"I want to see how well my future self really trained you." 

"All right." She surrendered. Knowing Piccolo, arguing with him would only waste her energy. "Just let me change."

"Why?" He was losing his patience with her as well.

She pointed to her skirt, frustrated at his naïveté. "These aren't exactly sparring clothes."

Piccolo gave a grunt as he walked out the door. "All right, but hurry. I haven't got all night." 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	5. Chapter 6

Title: Waiting

Author: The Noseless Wonder

Disclaimer: I didn't create DBZ. Three cheers for Akira Toriyama! The man who actually   

                 created Dragon Ball Z/GT and all of its characters!

Authors Notes: Chapter six is finally up. I say that a lot, don't I? I tried to correct some of the spelling errors, so it should be more accurate this thyme. (heheh) Stupid joke, I know. Oh well, enjoy J 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Goku Jr. happily leaned over the huge cake that Chichi baked and blew out the five candles on top. Blowing really hard, he managed to get all of the candles out, but he almost fell into the cake while doing so. Everyone laughed and clapped as Goku Jr. just gave one of the Son's patented grins. Videl walked over to the cake and started cutting it while Goku Sr. and Jr. jumped up and down in their chairs in anticipation. Their faces both fell into frowns when Videl told them to be patient. They could only eat when everybody else was served.

Goku Jr. made a wish when he blew out the candles. His grandfather had told him what to wish for… that Pan would come back. He missed his sister, but everyone else was there, and that made him happy.

Videl and Gohan looked on at their son. He was growing too fast for them, but they couldn't be more proud of him. Goten and Marron also stood nearby. They were wishing they had a child of their own, but they were glad they could celebrate his birthday with him. Trunks was behind Goku as he blew out the candles. He laughed and messed his hair when he had almost fallen into the cake. Bra sat next to Ubuu the entire night. She had been practically hanging off him. Ubuu didn't mind. He thought she was kind of cute and it gave him somebody to talk with. 

Bulma sat across from Goku Jr. and cheered him on as he blew out the candles while Vegeta just sat there with his arms crossed and glared at everyone. The only reason he was even there was because there was going to be chocolate cake. He was a regular chocoholic, but he would never admit it, even though everyone knew… and as much as he detested Kakarot's mate, at least she could cook a good meal.

Goku Sr. was seated across the table too. Chichi was standing over him, watching him to make sure he wouldn't try anything. Thinking he was out of her sights, he subtly moved his hand across the table. He acted completely innocent as it neared the cake… his fingers slowly walking up to the edge and stretched to reach the lining of frosting that beckoned him so loudly. The ever-vigilant Chichi saw the pitiful attempt and attacked. She grabbed a rolling pin, seemingly from nowhere, and hit Goku hard on the hand. Goku recoiled in pain as he rubbed his sore, red hand. His wife may be only human, but Chichi could make it hurt if she wanted. 

Everyone chatted about how big and strong Goku Jr. was getting and how much he looked like his father. They were enjoying each other's company. It had been a while since everyone was together again. In fact, the last time they had a dinner so big was when Pan came back from her training. 

No one ever mentioned Pan. They were trying to keep the party from going downhill. Every one had it in the backs of their minds though. They were all very worried and wondered if she even got there okay, but Trunks was sure she did… and he was counting the days to her return. 

After cake, Vegeta figured there was nothing left for him there, so he went off and sat by himself against a tree. Everyone else gathered on the grass and watched as Goku Jr. opened his presents. His face lit up brightly with each one. Every new gift opened was like discovering a hidden treasure. He got a lot of toys, like any five year-old would, some weapons, which Videl wasn't too happy about, and some science books, which were obviously from Chichi. He thanked everyone and gave them hugs, even Ubuu, who he didn't even know. 

Soon after, all of the gifts were opened and everyone was given their thanks. Goku Jr. went off to play with his grandfather, Trunks and Ubuu. The rest of the party began to clean up, except for Vegeta, who was still off by himself. There was a huge mess to clean.  After all, most of the people there were either Saiyans or demi-Saiyans. There were plenty of dishes from the party to be cleaned, and because Gohan and Videl didn't have a dishwasher, they had to be hand washed. At least no one had to worry about leftovers. Tupperware was a rare sight to this family. 

All of the women were outside cleaning off the picnic table. Gohan was washing the dishes they were bringing in while Goten dried them. Gohan noticed that Goten's eyes were focused outside the window. He was watching Goku toss his grandson up in the air. He threw him up and over, then materialized behind and caught him. Goku Jr. couldn't fly yet, so he was at the mercy of his grandfather's strength and speed, but he was having a ball. His laughing could be heard from all the way in the kitchen. 

"Thanks for your help Goten. It would've taken forever without you." Gohan said.

Goten seemed to not even hear the question. He was still drying the dishes that Gohan was handing him, but his attention was elsewhere. "It isn't fair."

Gohan put the last of the dishes away and turned to face him. "What was that?"

"I just said that it isn't fair. I want one of those." 

Gohan looked out the window to see what had gotten Goten's focus. He smiled when he saw his son laughing hysterically as Goku attacked him with the "tickle bug." He wouldn't trade his children for anything in the universe. He never thought he could be so proud and willing to give up his life for anyone. He also knew that Goten wanted very much to feel that way about someone too. "How long have you and Marron been trying?" He asked.

"We've been married for five years, so we've been trying for five years, but it wasn't until the last six months that we started getting desperate." Goten noticed the look on Gohan's face. He thought that he looked smug. Every time they would start talking about children, Gohan would get the same stupid look. Goten started feeling angry. That must be Gohan's way of shoving in his face. 

"You should see a doctor. They have over-the-counter medicine they can give you that might help." Gohan was just making a simple suggestion. After all, Goten was the one who brought it up. 

"I don't think there's anything wrong with us." Goten was fuming now. How dare Gohan say that he and his wife were unhealthy?! There was nothing wrong with them!

"Well, it most likely isn't you, you're half Saiyan. It's probably Marron." Gohan hadn't meant to insult her. He was a family doctor and saw many of these cases. He was just giving a medical suggestion. 

Goten's ki flared. He was extremely angry with his older brother. His teeth clenched and his anger over came him. Goten had his back to Gohan, but he could feel the power surge. When he looked up, Gohan saw that the back of Goten's hair was gold and there was a golden aura surrounding him.

"Goten, what's wro…" 

Gohan hadn't even finished the question before Goten's fist made contact with his jaw. Because Gohan hadn't braced for such a heavy impact, the punch threw him back into the wall across the kitchen. He sat up and rubbed his jaw. There was blood coming out of his mouth, so he must have bitten his tongue. Gohan's glasses had also been knocked off and were lying in pieces on the floor. 

"Goten, what the…" He started to say before Goten cut him off.

"Marron is not sterile!" He yelled.

Gohan calmly stood up. He wasn't angry, Goten was just being defensive about his wife. "I never said she was." Gohan's voice was calm and quiet. That made Goten even angrier. "It could be something as simple as a hormonal imbalance."

Goten ran and side kicked Gohan in the ribs for that remark. Gohan stood up again and finally got into a defensive stance. "She's not unhealthy!" Goten yelled. "She's not old either! Not like Videl!"

Gohan allowed his ki to rise. He was willing to forgive and forget before, even though Goten had ruined his kitchen, but nobody insulted his wife and lived to tell about it. Untrained power or not, Goten was going to go down for this one. Gohan didn't even care weather or not Goten had control over his actions. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Goku stopped playing with his grandson when he felt his sons' power levels rise. He knew that both of them had gone Super Saiyan, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. Even Vegeta poked his head up. It was about time something interesting and worthy of his attention happened. Trunks wasn't as sensitive to ki levels as he used to be, but he too felt the power jump. Ubuu stopped talking to Bra and walked over to Goku's side, preparing in case of a battle. They waited and listened, but all was quiet for the moment.

Both demi-Saiyans suddenly crashed through the glass sliding door. Everyone was stunned when they saw that the two brothers were fighting each other. They just stood there and watched. 

"Cool!" Goku Jr. yelled from his grandfather's arms. "Dad and Uncle Goten are fighting!"

"Goku, stop them!" Chichi yelled from the sidelines, but Goku didn't. He was curious as to which one was more powerful. Most of the time, when they sparred, they would always pull their punches and never really go full-out. However, as anyone could see, that wasn't the case this time. 

Goten and Gohan rustled on the ground. They kept throwing powerful punches and kicks at one another, even though their angle was screwed up. Their fighting was sloppy because they were blind with anger, but it was still interesting to watch.

Vegeta got up from his seat and casually walked over to Goku. "So, Kakarot," He asked, "who do you think will come out in better shape?"

"I don't know." Goku said while still just watching them. "Gohan's got the experience, but Goten has been training more lately."

Finally Chichi stepped forward. If her husband wasn't going to do anything, then she would. She was angry. Not only were her two sons making spectacles of themselves, but they were getting their nice clothes dirty too. "Stop it! Stop it you two!" She yelled, but they continued to fight. "Look, if I have to make your wives ground you…" 

A stray foot stuck out and knocked Chichi on her back. She wasn't hurt, just surprised. Both men stopped fighting when they realized what had happened. They both quickly got up and helped their mother to her feet.

"Mom, are you okay?" They both asked. Hearing their voices at the same time, they turned and growled at each other. "Look what you did!" They both yelled, again at the same time. 

They soon blurred out of sight. Now they were fighting for real, the right way. Goku knew it wouldn't be too long before they started throwing energy blasts at one another, so he motioned to Trunks to come and help him. They both flew up to where the brothers were fighting. Goku grabbed Gohan and Trunks grabbed Goten. They had them in a decent arm lock, but both men put up a mean struggle before Goku and Trunks managed to force them to the ground.

Marron and Videl ran up to their respective husbands. Neither of the wives were afraid of their husbands, which were now both at Super Saiyan level two. As long as they were married, the women had more power, and they knew it. Both of the wives started yelling their husbands, and Chichi was switching off between the two.

"He hit me, ruined our wall and called you old!" Gohan argued to Videl.

Goten heard him, even though he had both Marron and Chichi yelling in his ear, and countered. "You said Marron was unhealthy! You said she was barren!" 

Marron blushed. There were people present at that party that she didn't even know. Boy, was she going to let Goten have it when they got home. She put her hands on her hips and tried to stay calm. She was determined not to cry out in front of everyone. 

Both men stayed at Super Saiyan. Each one of them unwilling to power down before the other one did first. All was quiet, until Marron lost her control. With a single tear streaming down her cheek, she slapped Goten in the face. Her hand hurt more than his face, but the shock brought him out of Super Saiyan. Trunks let him go and backed out. There was no way he was going to stay and witness the beating Goten was about to go through. Goten just looked at Marron. Guilt was written all over his face. He did it again. He lost control.

"Did you ever stop to think that he was giving his professional opinion?!" She asked, trying to regain her calm. "He's a doctor. His specialty is young children and families that want children. I know he's seen these kinds of cases before. He was just trying to help!"

Goten didn't respond, which gave Marron a clear answer. He hadn't been thinking. Gohan dropped out of Super Saiyan as well. He thought that due to the circumstances, he'd get off the hook, but he was wrong. Videl grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her. 

"And you," She said sternly, "if someone insults me I can defend myself, thank you. Besides, just because he called me a name didn't give you permission to fight. Especially right in front of our son like that."

Gohan knew she was right. He didn't want his son to think that fighting with your family like that was okay. 

"Let's go home." Marron said. Goten just shook his head. She went over to apologize to Gohan and Videl right when Goku Jr. ran over and hugged Goten. Goten picked him up and messed his hair. Goten and Trunks were the only ones who were allowed to do that as far as Goku Jr. was concerned. 

"Are you leaving?" Goku asked disappointedly.

"Yeah, but happy birthday." He said. "I'm sorry for ruining your party."

"You didn't ruin it. The fight was really cool!" 

Goten chuckled as he put Goku down. The kid was definitely a Saiyan. Marron walked back over to Goten. He could tell by the look on her face that it was going to be a long flight home. He picked her up and started levitating while she waved goodbye to everyone. 

"Hey brother!" Gohan yelled. "Call me when you're ready to start training."

Goten's expression softened. That was a nice gesture of forgiveness made by his older brother. After all, Goten had hit him, ruined his door and kitchen wall, insulted his wife, and to top it all off, he had ruined his son's birthday party as well. Goten even gave a soft smile as he took off, wife in arms, toward their home. 

Everyone left after that. It had kind of dulled the party. Vegeta was disappointed. He had hoped that a fight between brothers like that would have been more interesting. Goku was just trying to avoid getting hit by a rolling pin from Chichi again. After everyone had left, Goku Jr. smiled and turned to his parents.

"Hey Dad," He said. "Can we do that again next year?"

"No!" His parents quickly answered at the same time.       

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan crashed on her bed. She didn't know what time it was, but she really didn't care. The sun had been up for a while, that's all she knew. She had been training with Piccolo for what seemed like hours. He had been relentless. He didn't let her go Super Saiyan, even though there were several times where she wasn't sure if she was even going to survive. Piccolo told her that if she went Super Saiyan she would make herself detectable to Vegeta and Goku. When she asked why he wasn't lowering his level, he had stated that the other fighters were used to feeling his higher ki because he was in almost constant training. She didn't think that was very fair, but then again, Piccolo was never known for his fairness. 

"Measuring skill is more effective than measuring power because power is nothing without control." She made her best impression of his deep, scratchy voice while trying to remember how many times he had said that line to her that night.

When it was finished, she had managed to get him to take off his weighted clothing. You would think that would have proved her point, that she was as skillful as any of the Z fighters, but no. He wasn't satisfied. He needed to test every aspect of her fighting capabilities. After all, she had claimed that he trained her, and he didn't want her walking around telling people that if she was a bad fighter. They ended up sparring for ten hours straight. 

She slowly turned her head to look at the clock. It was nine in the morning. Pan was surprised that she had even gotten herself back to the ship. Piccolo made her go somewhere far away, just to make sure that her ki wouldn't be detected. He said something about not wanting her to create an alternate dimension, or something. She really hadn't understood. 

All that she remembered about the location was that it was cold, very far north and west, and it took two hours of flying just to get there. To make it worse, Piccolo had made her swim for a couple of hours, so her ki wouldn't be detected when she flew. On the way back, she told him that if she were to swim, she would surely drown because she was exhausted, and her dad wouldn't be too happy about that. He gave in and carried her to the shoreline, but then she had to walk all the way back to the ship.

"Sixteen hours." She groaned. "Ten hours of training, four hours of flying and two hours of swimming and walking. I never thought that I would be so happy to get back in this stupid ship."

Her eyes stung. They were begging to be closed. Pan knew she needed a shower, she could smell herself. She could also use a glass of water and a change of clothes, but there was no way she was going to get her body to move for her any time soon. 

She was, however, able to move her arms up. That was the extent of her range of motion for the moment. She inspected all of the cuts and bruises that Piccolo had inflicted on her. As she cleaned some of her wounds with a Kleenex that happened to be in reach, something dawned on her. Piccolo might make her train with him again that night. In fact, now that she thought about it, he had said something about resting up for it.

"Stupid Piccolo." A headache was quickly beginning to make itself known to her. She respected Piccolo greatly, but her father's former sensei could be a little overbearing and obsessive when it came to training. Pan had often wondered why Gohan had worshipped him so much when he was younger, but Gohan explained that Piccolo had been there for some very hard times in his life… the times when his father was not. 

Pan concluded that Piccolo had been like an uncle, or even a second father to Gohan, that's why he cared for him so much. "I don't know many uncles who would cause their family so much physical pain." Then she happened to recall how she ended up in the past in the first place. "Well, uncles that belong in normal families, anyway." 

The room seemed to grow darker as she thought of her family. They must have been worried. She hoped her dad wasn't too hard on Goten when he told him what had happened. 

Sleep overcame her. She was still in her sparring clothes, and she had never had that water or the shower. She slept peacefully and dreamt about how Trunks had reacted to her. She wondered if he ever thought of her that way in the future. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

They were sitting on a picnic blanket in the middle of a grassy field. They had just finished a rather large meal and were now simply enjoying the sun and each other. She giggled as he playfully nuzzled his nose to her neck and then kissed the same spot. She was sitting on his lap and he had his arms around her. She sighed contentedly as she felt him press his lips wherever he could reach. 

"Kara, you do know that I love you, don't you?" He asked while still placing kisses all over her neck and ear. 

"Trunks, I love you too." She turned to face him as he tenderly placed his mouth on hers. 

"Good, now I won't have to hunt you down or stalk you until you're mine." He joked.

"Trunks, I think there's something you should know. My name isn't Kara Oakie." He acted serious at first, but then tickled her ribs. He didn't seem to care, it was like a game to him. She laughed in response to his playing. "Trunks, I'm serious."

"Okay, okay." He laughed at her over-sensitive response to such a light tickle. "Then what is it?"

"Guess." She dared as she laid her head on his chest.

"Hmm, okay. I give up." 

"No!" She protested, hitting his shoulder. "You didn't even try!"

"Nope… I'm not good at guessing."

She giggled in anticipation of his surprise. "My name is Pan, Pan Son." She looked up to see his reaction. Trunks' smile turned instantly into a cold, disappointed scowl. He harshly shoved her off his lap and walked into the wooded area nearby. 

"Ouch." She complained. She had hit her jaw on a plate. She looked up in time to see him disappear into the woods. "Trunks! Trunks, wait! I can explain!" 

She followed him in, but she couldn't find him anywhere. It seemed like she had been running forever when she spotted him walking only a few yards to the left of her. Pan quickly ran over to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Trunks wait. Let me explain." She pleaded.

He turned to face her. There was an eerie look plastered on his face. "Panny, I'm sorry, but I don't have time to play now." He said.

"Play? Wha…" She just shrugged it off, even though she really hadn't understood what he meant. "Look, I know I lied to you, but if I would have told you the truth you would have…" 

He cut her off. "Look Panny, I'm sorry, but I have to run. I've got a date tonight and I'm running late."

"A date? But we were just…" She couldn't figure out what he was trying to pull, but she didn't care. "Trunks, I love you."

He took her hand in his. He had one of those sickening, fake compassionate looks on his face. Like a politician kissing a baby in front of news cameras.  "Panny, some day you're going to find a nice boy who is your age and cares about you very much. Then, you'll completely forget about me." He smiled and messed her hair with his hand. 

"What are you doing?!" She yelled. "You have no right to talk to me like that! I'm not a child!"

"You have a lot of time before you have to start worrying about growing up Panny." He said smoothly as she was fuming with anger. "Take a look over there. You're a pretty little lady. Don't rush so much. Enjoy it while you can."

She looked over to where he was pointing. Even though it was impossible, the nearby waterfall seemed to be reflecting her image. Except… the image it was reflecting was of Pan when she was eight.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

She woke up with a start. She sat up quickly as tried to catch her breath. "It was just a dream." She assured herself. "Just a dream." It may have just been a weird nightmare, but still, she was hurt. The fact was, she could see him really pulling something like that on her. 

"I've got to find him again. If he remembers what happened, he's going to hate me. I have to spray him and make him forget me." She got out of bed, but not that easily. She was still stiff from her workout. She was trying to think of the places where he would most likely be. "I'll try Capsule Corp. No, that's too risky. I don't want to have to spray the entire Briefs family with that stuff, it may have weird side effects. I'll go to his office. No, he probably won't be there. His mom used to let him have the summers off until he was about twenty-five years-old." She noticed she was talking out loud to herself again.

"I've got to stop doing that." She said, again, out loud. "He might be in the mall again. Oh, I never got to finish my Sloshy. Now I have an excuse to go back." She laughed at herself. It was a pitiful excuse, but she thought that she deserved an ice cream after the previous night's exercise anyway.  

She grabbed a coat and started to head out the door, but she stopped herself when she noticed the stiff hair on the back of her neck, and the strong odor coming from her shirt. "I'd better take a bath first. I smell bad enough to melt my ice cream." 

Pan hurried around the ship, packing a small bag. She packed a vile of the spray, but she didn't hook it in to the small spray can. She just didn't think of it. She also packed some nice clothes and some soap. There was a waterfall with a small pond nearby that she liked to bathe in more than the ship's shower.

She cleaned up and washed her sparring clothes under the cool, clear water. She was very glad that the ship had landed in that spot. Waterfalls were her favorite way of relieving stress. After drying off, and putting her workout clothes out to air, she put on anther one of Bulma's shorter skirts and a slightly revealing blouse. They were different than the ones she had one before, but the idea was the same. The clothes were still uncomfortable and awkward to her, but if it made Trunks give her that kind of attention, they couldn't be all that bad.

Pan jumped back in her black convertible. If she was whistled at, or admired by other drivers, she didn't notice. Her mind was set on something else. As she got closer to the mall, she felt that Trunks' ki was close. He was probably somewhere nearby, even if he wasn't in the mall. Pan hoped that wherever he was, he was alone.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Trunks come on. I want to leave. We've been here forever." Goten complained.

"Just another half an hour or so." Trunks pleaded.

"That's what you said half an hour ago, and half an hour before that, and half an hour before that…" Marron continued to talk as she let her head fall on the table in frustration. It made a loud thump, but she kept complaining. "…and half an hour before that."

"We've been waiting here for too long all ready. She's not coming." Goten put his hand on Trunks' shoulder for support, hoping he would give up and leave. "Face it man, you struck out. It happens to everyone once and a while."

Trunks looked up and glared at Goten. "I didn't strike out." He said through partially gritted teeth. "She'll be here."

"Not everyone comes here every day, Trunks." Marron rolled her head over and yawned. She felt she would fall asleep if she just sat there any longer. "Only people who are bored, really like ice cream, or whose father's happen to come from some distant planet."

Trunks had a look of concern on his face. This girl seemed really important to him, that's the only reason why Goten and Marron stayed with him. 

"Get another ice cream, on me. We'll leave in an hour or so."

"An hour?!" Marron yelled. "What ever happened to half an hour?"

"Come on Trunks." Goten tried pleading his case once more. "We've eaten so much ice cream, even _I'm _getting a stomach ache."

"Can't you be patient?" Trunks spoke through gritted teeth. He knew his friends didn't want to be there. They were just trying to support him, but he was getting angry with both of them. 

"She's not coming! I think Marron and I have been patient enough. If we're taking Dex to the disco tonight, I've got to go home and get ready."                         

Trunks turned his head and mumbled under his breath, "What's the use? It's not like you ever bathe anyway."

Goten heard it and got out of his seat. He offered his hand to Marron and she got up as well. "Come on Marron. If  you want, I'll fly you home. We shouldn't have to wait any longer for somebody who isn't going to show up."

Marron agreed, but took a last look at her friend. The look on his face was angry, but disappointed. Marron could tell that he had really liked that girl, but accepted the fact that she wasn't going to show. 

Marron reassured Trunks. "If she knew that you were waiting for her, she would have been here by now. I don't know if you noticed the way she was looking at you last night, but she seemed real taken with you."

Trunks didn't respond, so Goten and Marron walked out the door. "Man, I've never seen him go after a girl like that." 

"I feel kind of bad for leaving him," Marron said, "but he never even got any conformation from her. How does he know that she knew to come back? He didn't even ask her for her number."

"Yeah, I see your point." 

They walked out of the mall into a secluded alley way. Goten picked up Marron in his arms, being cautious not to hold her too tight. They had flown together hundreds of times before, but Goten still reveled in it. He loved having her in his arms, and so close.

Back inside, Trunks let out a large sigh. Goten and Marron were right, Kara wasn't coming. Ready to leave, he got up and started throwing trash away, which was quite a feat. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

As Pan walked through the mall, she felt Goten's ki. He was flying away. 'Good.' She thought. 'If Goten's gone then Trunks is most likely alone.' She started in the direction of her favorite old-time hang out when something hit her. 'Shoot, I never thought of that. Goten and Marron saw me too.'

She panicked when she realized that Goten had all ready left. 'Crap, I'm going to have to spray them later.'

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks finished picking up the trash. He managed to fill two of the parlor's trash cans with the magnitude of it all. As he walked out the door, he thought of how disappointed he was that she hadn't shown up. His head was bowed, and he was paying more attention to the cup he was kicking across the ground than to where he was walking.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan slowed down as she approached the entrance. What was she going to say to him? He genuinely seemed to like her. A rather large portion of her wanted to stick it out and see where it would go, but she knew it would be wrong. She really didn't want to spray him. She had waited her whole life for him to notice her like that. 

Pan took a deep breath as she all but charged through the entrance. If she didn't get it over and done with, she might never do it at all. She must not have been paying attention either, because she was stopped in her tracks by a wall… a wall that was softer than concrete, but not by much. Pan fell on her backside after running into it at full force.

"Ouch." She said looking up. She was surprised to find that the wall had a pair of legs. 'Crap!' She yelled silently as she recognized the familiar lavender hair, blue eyes and stupid smirk. 

He knelt down to help the woman he had knocked over pick up the spilled contents of her purse. His smile widened when he noticed who exactly the young woman was. "Kara, hi!" He said it kind of loud. 'Shut up Trunks!' He yelled at himself. 'Stop sounding so eager. She'll think there's something wrong with you.'

"Hi Trunks." She was rubbing her sore back. Wearing heels can really throw you off balance. Otherwise, she wouldn't have even been thrown on the ground. 

"Sorry, I guess I wasn't watching where I was going." He quickly hopped back to his feet and offered her his hand for assistance in getting up.   

"That's okay, neither was I." She took his hand and stood up, then preceded to wipe off the dirt that had stuck on the back of her skirt.

"Are you okay?" He asked, hoping he hadn't permanently damaged her or something.

"I'm fine." She assured. "I doubt landing on my butt could ever hurt me." She chuckled quietly when she remembered all the times he had thrown her into a tree or a brick wall.

"I didn't expect to run into you here." The blush of embarrassment that had been on his cheeks before darkened when he discovered how stupid that must have sounded. He silently wondered if he was ever going to act normal around this girl.

She chuckled again, mostly because she had noticed that he was blushing. She turned her head up and gave him a bright smile. The same smile she had given him the day before. He felt that he could completely lose himself in that smile if he wanted to. All the worries that she might not have liked him disappeared into the back of his brain as he gazed into those soft, blue eyes of her. He probably wouldn't be able to remember his name at that moment if somebody asked him. He probably wouldn't even hear the question. However, something did manage to bring him out of that sweet serenity. He wasn't sure if it was the sound, or the sensation of glass breaking under his foot that brought him back to reality. 

He looked down to see a glass vile, that used to be filled with something, lying in pieces underneath his boot. He cringed as he realized that it was seemingly something that had fallen out of her purse. When he looked up at her face, he got the answer. Her hand was over her mouth and she looked like she was sorry that happened.

"Was that important?" He asked with a sheepish grin.

She looked at the clear liquid that was slowly spreading across the pavement, and kicked herself for not bringing another vile. When she looked up at his expression, all she could do was laugh. He looked like her grandfather did whenever he did something wrong. Oh well, at least the ants wouldn't remember who she was, and this gave her an excuse to sit down and talk with him a while.  "No, it can be replaced." 

"Um…I'm not usually this much of a klutz. Can I buy you an ice cream, to make up for throwing you to the ground and then breaking all of your things?"

She was still laughing at the irony of it all. "Yeah, that would be nice." 

Trunks had to wonder what she was laughing at. It must have had something to do with that tube he broke.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

They talked for an hour and a half straight. Pan had lied through her teeth about almost everything. She told him that her father was a doctor, her mother was a house wife and she had a five year-old little brother. She made up names for them quickly, but purposefully said them while mumbling so he couldn't understand. Because he was trying to impress her, she figured that he wouldn't admit that he couldn't hear her, and he didn't. She also told him that she lived across the world, and was just in town visiting relatives. He never questioned her honesty, so she must have been a decent actress.

She spent most of the time listening to Trunks drone on, but she didn't mind. She knew that talking too much would probably only get her into trouble. He told her almost everything about himself, save the fact that his father was from outer space, and of course, she all ready knew everything that he told her. He did exaggerate on some of the finer details, which amused Pan because she could corner him for that when she got home. 

The rest of the time he filled in by telling her funny stories. She noticed that he told them a lot better when he thought the listener was only hearing them for the first time. He added a lot of untrue information, to make it sound more impressive, but at the same time, he cut out the parts about other planets, ki blasts and going Super Saiyan. She still recognized them as the same old stories though. He had told her flat out that he fought in his spare time, she didn't quite know how to react, so she just shook her head and looked impressed.

Even though Pan enjoyed the funny stories, like she always had, she was mostly enjoying the special form of attention that Trunks was giving her. He treated her like something special, instead of just a good buddy that he was sharing some of his memories with. He somehow worked his way from across the table to the seat next to her. That way, he could get closer and put his arm around her. He was still giving her that look of his too. The look that said he was enjoying the company, and wanted to be with her. 

She could have listened to him talk forever. There had been so many times when she had wanted to lose herself in his eyes. So many times where she wanted to study his chiseled features and inhale the sent of his cologne. He was in the middle of a story about him and Goten when she got distracted. He suddenly started laughing, so she laughed with him, even though she had no idea what he had said. 

"Uh oh." He said looking down at his watch. 

"What's wrong?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't have to leave.

"A friend of mine is moving away in a few days. We were going to take him out tonight, but I lost track of time. I had to leave five minutes ago."

"Oh," She said disappointedly. "I understand. Sorry for keeping you."

He looked down at her. "Do you have anything to do tonight?"

She shook her head. "Nope, just wrap my brother's birthday gift."

"Why don't you come with us?"

"Oh, thanks, but your saying goodbye to a friend. I don't want to…"

"We're going to a disco. It's not like he's going to hear us anyway."

"A disco?" Pan had to hold back a chuckle when she heard this. She couldn't imagine Goten and Trunks dancing at a disco. The very thought made her laugh out loud.

"Come on, it'll be fun." He insisted.

She thought about it. If she stayed in the ship, not only would she be bored to death, but Piccolo would most likely come and get her for another midnight training session. "Okay, but I need to go back and change."

"Why?" He subtly scanned over her again. "I think you look really nice."

Something in the tone of his voice made her blush at the compliment. "I left something there that I need to grab."

"I can give you a lift if you want. It's no trouble." He picked up her hand and played with her fingers. His response was a smile.

"Thanks, but I'll meet you there."

"Okay," Trunks didn't want to be too pushy. "The disco's called the Mezzanine Floor. It's on the corner of Rain and Hail."

"I can be there in an hour at the soonest." She said trying to calculate how long it would take to drive back to the ship.

"No problem. We'll wait outside for you."

She quickly got up and headed towards the door. Trunks, like a gentleman, stood up with her. "Oh, and thanks for the ice cream." She waved goodbye.

Trunks waved back. He slowly sat down again as he watched her run out the door and down the walk way. His smile never left his lips.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan hurried through the ship as she changed clothes and made herself up for her date. Putting on make-up and piling her hair on her head had become a lot easier in the last few days. She managed to gather all of her things together and stuffed them in her purse in no time at all. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she sighed confidently as she headed out.

"Okay, I think I have everything." She said to herself, making sure. She was halfway out the door when she stopped. Pan had forgotten the reason she came back to the ship in the first place.

Rolling her eyes in frustration, she quickly headed towards the bed room. She picked up the case that was lying on her bed and grabbed a vile and a spray can from it. As she turned to leave again, she stopped. It had hit her...

The innocent looking liquid inside the container would make him forget about her. She thought about the way he had acted with her, the way he had subtly wrapped his arm around her, the way he played with her fingers, not to mention the way he had looked at her. She didn't want it all to end just yet. Besides, what could a few more hours hurt?

She put the vile and the spray can back down on the bed. She had waited her whole life for him to notice her in that way, and she wasn't going to stop it before she got a chance to enjoy it. Pan smiled as she walked out the door. Imagining herself in his arms, she sighed as she realized that it wasn't far away from happening. She had finally gotten the attention of Mr. Trunks Briefs.


	6. Chapter 7

Title: Waiting

Author: The Noseless Wonder with great thanks to **Trinityblue, for helping me **

            over a block. Oh, and Dr. Pepper. I couldn't have stayed awake without you. 

            *sniffles* I love you, my Dr. Pepper. *kisses can* Okay, I'm done now. 

Disclaimer: Ha! I'm creative, but I'm not that creative. Nor do I have the financial

                   backing to create and produce the best manga series/ anime cartoon on the

                  planet. I give the credit to Akira Toriyama. That way, I won't get sued.

Author's Notes: AAAHHHH! *screams in frustration* I'm working on cutting the size of 

                          these chapters. At least you can't get me for being under descriptive. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Goten flew towards his home with Marron in his arms. He thought that it was going to be a long ride back, after what he had done. He was sure that his wife would never let him hear the end of it. Really, he hadn't meant to yell the fact that they were having reproductive problems in front of everyone. He hadn't meant to lose his temper either.

On the way home, Goten had expected yelling, screaming, crying and even physical violence to come from Marron… but there was nothing. She just sat in his arms and watched the ground speed by underneath. She never even said a word after they took off. This scared Goten very much. It was much worse than yelling or crying. He could have handled yelling or crying, but this meant that she was more hurt than angry. He didn't know what to say to her.

He remembered that when they were younger, she used to love it when he would do spins and loops while they were flying. It couldn't hurt to try. Even if it made her angry, at least he would get some kind of a response. With no warning, he quickly made a large double loop and closed it with a spin. When it was over, he had gotten her to turn her head. That wasn't quite the reaction he had been hoping for. He gave her a bright smile, wishing that she would get angry with him or something… but she just looked away, the same hurt expression on her face. 

"Marron…" He said hoping to get her to look at him again, but she didn't. She just kept looking down at the ground. When they got home, he set her down softly on the ground. She ran and unlocked the door. By the time Goten got through the door himself, she was already upstairs. He started to follow her, but she quickly ran into their bedroom and slammed the door. He took this as a good sign that he wouldn't be allowed back in his bed to sleep that night.

He slowly turned around and glared at the couch. He hated sleeping on that stupid couch. The kitchen table would be more comfortable, but it would be cold too. "Oh well," He sighed, "this isn't the first time I've had to sleep on this couch, and it probably won't be the last."

He let out another frustrated sigh as he plopped down, already feeling the wayward spring that was responsible for making his lonely, couch-condemned nights pure torture. He wanted to go talk to his wife, but he wisely decided that it was better to let her cool down first, so he sat there and flipped on the TV. She always came down to make herself a cup of tea before bed. He would talk to her then. 

A few hours later, Goten was just starting to doze off when he heard the bedroom door open, and Marron's light-weight steps travel down the stairs. He waited until she put the water on to boil to walk in the kitchen. That way, she'd have no choice but to stand there and listen to him if she wanted her tea. When he got there, he didn't know what to say, so he just leaned against the door and watched her. 

Marron hadn't turned around, and Goten had been really quiet, but she still knew he was there. 'Dang it,' She thought, not wanting to talk to him, 'why does the water have to take so long to boil?'

"It's twelve o'clock." He finally spoke up. "We haven't eaten anything in a while, do you want me to make something?"

"No," She replied, softly, but coldly. "I'm not hungry."

He went up to her and moved around in attempt to get her to look him in the face. "What? Could that be a response from my wife?"

She finally looked up at him. He was giving her another cheesy grin, but she returned it with the look of death. He gave up on trying to improve her mood.

"Marron, can't we talk about this?" He pleaded, blocking her from running up the stairs again.

She gave up on the water. She just wanted to be alone. "There's nothing to talk about." She sternly replied. 

"Honey, I'm sorry."

"Do you even know what you're sorry for?"

"I have a couple of ideas."

"I can't believe that you shouted I was sterile in front of your entire family!" She yelled.  
  


"I didn't! I said that you _weren't_ sterile."

"Your brother was the only one that knew that we were having trouble. I didn't mind that, but you shouted at him about it with everyone there watching. Now, everyone will assume that we were going to him for advice, and they will be right!" She tried her best to get past Goten, but he wouldn't move until they had talked it out.

Goten held her back, but he noticed that tears were beginning to form in her eyes, which worried him. "Marron, we're gong to have a kid. It's just going to take some more time and…" 

"Goten, I really do not want to talk about this right now." She tried harder to move her way past him, but he still wouldn't budge.

"We can go to one of the doctors that Gohan mentioned. Maybe we can get some of those vitamins, and plan a schedule that'll be more affective." He chuckled lightly. "If worse comes to worse, we could always advertise for a surrogate mother."

Marron knew he was only making a poor joke, but that was the last straw for her. With tears freely flowing down her face and her jaw clenched, she shouted at him, "Here's a thought! Why don't we just get divorced! That way, you can marry another woman and get _her_ pregnant!"

Goten had realized the stupidity of his words as soon as they came out of his mouth, but it was too late to take them back. "Oh Marron, I didn't mean…"

"Listen to me Goten, I'm sick of this obsession of yours! I want my marriage back!" She calmed sown, realizing that he had only wanted a family. "A lot of couples have survived without children, and frankly, I don't want a kid if it ends up tearing us apart."

"Marron, I can understand how you must feel, but if we just keep trying…"

"You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you?!" She yelled.

"I just don't understand why you aren't willing to make some sacrifices!" He was beginning to get angry.

"I am, I just don't want to have to sacrifice our marriage!"   

"We don't have to! We'll just go to the doctor and find out what's wrong with you and…" He was starting to fume. How could she be so selfish?

"He won't find anything." She almost whispered.

"Why not?" 

She delayed in telling him anything. What she had to say was _not_ going to make him happy. 

"Why not?!" He yelled.

"I've been… taking precautions, to make sure that I wouldn't get pregnant."

"When…?"

He froze, his face showing disbelief and disappointment. He turned his back to her, but she continued, "I didn't… at first." She explained. "It was just in the last six months, when you started obsessing over it. Ever since you would start picking out baby names after ever doctor's appointment. Ever since we started trying those… ridiculous therapies. I just thought that if we tried, and we failed, then you would eventually give up, and we could go back to just enjoying our lives together."

He didn't say anything. He just stood there. "Goten?" At first, Marron couldn't read his reaction, but then she saw his hand. It was curled up into a fist, and he was squeezing so hard that his entire arm was shaking. 

"Why did you… How could you…" He was having trouble finding the words, he was so angry with her.  

Marron stood there wide eyed as his hair went blonde. She expected to see Buu or Bebi nearby. It scared her when she realized that it was her he thought of as his enemy this time. She actually felt afraid of him. She wanted to turn away and run, but something stopped her. She couldn't believe he was about to blow up at her, and she wasn't sure how far he would let it go before he stopped it.

He turned and looked at her. His eyes were filled with more rage than she had ever seen. The pot of water boiled and whistled, alerting the cook that it was ready. This startled Goten, and out of reflex, he reached his hand out. He watched, horrified at himself as a small ki blast escaped from his finger tips and headed directly to where Marron was standing.

The ki blast missed Marron, barely. It hit the pot behind her and shattered it. Marron screamed, afraid that it was still going to hit her. Her eyes were shut and she hadn't realized that it had missed her. Marron's scream brought Goten out of his haze of anger. He quickly returned to normal, only to find her clutching the wall. 

The very sight, and the thought that he had been the one to do this to her made his heart crumble. He started walking towards her, but when he got to her, all he could do was sink to his knees and wrap his arms around her waist. He held on to her tightly, and protectively. Tears fell from his eyes when he remembered that the only thing she had to be protected from was the horrible monster that was himself. 

"Marron, I didn't mean to… I wasn't aiming… It just slipped out of my fingers." He pleaded.

She sank to her knees as well, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "I know." She said softly. "It was an accident." 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I would rather die than ever hurt you. I love you."

"I know." She comforted. "I love you too. It was just an accident, it's okay. I'm fine."

They sat there for a while. Marron only let him go when she felt that he had stopped crying. He never cried, and that was what had scared her. "Listen, I'm going to go wash up."

"Okay." He stood up and let her go. "Are you sure you're okay?" 

"I'm fine, but I would appreciate it if you made that phone call you've been meaning to make."

He stood there, not quite sure what she meant at first, but he got the point. "Okay."

Marron walked to the bathroom, grabbing a towel on the way. When he heard Marron close the bathroom door, he picked up the phone. He dialed his brother's number, but he dialed slowly, unsure of what he was going to say.

"Hello?" He heard a voice sleepily ask from the other side of the line. 

"Hi Gohan, it's me." 

"It's after midnight Goten, what do you want?"

"I need to start training… now."

"Goten, what's wrong?" Gohan could tell his brother was upset.

"I blew up at her."

"You did what?!" Gohan's volume woke up Videl. She tried to ask who was on the phone, but Gohan motioned for her to be quiet. "Is she okay? What happened?"

Gohan talked to Goten for a few minutes. Videl could tell who it was by the conversation, and by the fact that his voice was loud, probably because he was upset. After hanging up, Gohan told Videl the whole story while he got dressed. He asked her to stop by their house later and make sure that Marron was okay. He packed quickly, grabbing some extra clothes for Goten, kissed his wife on the forehead, and walked out the door.

Marron was in the hallway, quietly eavesdropping on what Goten was saying. She heard everything. She knew that he loved her very much and would never do anything like that to her on purpose. She should have been sad, or angry, but she wasn't. She was happy. After training was over, they could go back to living their normal lives.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 

After putting her car back in its capsule, Pan hurried down the street. She was a little late, but knowing Trunks, he wouldn't go inside without her. She was amazed with the building. It was an old style theater with the original sign and everything. There was no way to tell that the place was a disco, except for the quickly growing line outside the front door. It donned on her that it might take a while to find Trunks. She had to shuffle through the entire crowd that was waiting.  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks leaned against the side of the building. Goten and Marron both noticed that he was off in la-la land, and he had a smirk on his face that head been there since they met up forty-five minutes before. They were near the front, so when the line started to move, they should have moved. Goten and Marron started walking in with the crowd, but Trunks just sat against the wall, scanning the line for his date.

"Hey, Trunks?" Goten asked, but got no response, "Hello? Earth calling Trunks, come in Trunks."

Trunks finally poked his head up, but he was oblivious to everything that Goten had just said. "What?"

"The line's moving." Goten said, pointing out the obvious. "When the line moves, we should move with it. That way, we can actually get _through_ the doors."

"You guys go ahead and go in. I'm waiting for someone." He said.

Marron looked at her watch. "I don't think that Dex is going to show. He's already forty-five minutes late." 

"Oh, I've given up on Dex. He knows that if he doesn't come with a group, he probably won't get in, so I guess he's not going to show."

"Then who are you waiting for?" Marron asked.

Trunks chuckled, "Well, you'll never guess who showed up at Sloshy's right after you left…"

"You're kidding." Marron and Goten both said. Goten said it mostly in disbelief. 

"No, I sort of… ran into her on the way out."

"Then why isn't she here?" Goten asked, still not quite believing his friend's story. 

"She said it would take about an hour to get back, and that was about an hour ago. She isn't late, she'll be here."

"Right, we'll see." Goten doubted.

"I wonder why Dex isn't here yet." Marron changed the subject.

"Who knows? I guess that's what you get for trying to treat a guy to a night out." 

"Heh," Marron shook her head. "Men."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan searched, but she was having trouble seeing over all the crowds. She couldn't even read their ki's. Finally, when the crowd dwindled down a bit, she could see black, spiky hair next to a lavender bowl cut. 'That must be them.'

"Trunks!" She yelled, trying to get his attention.

Instantly, Trunks head popped up and a bright smile appeared on his face. He walked over and grabbed her hand in order to assist her in getting through the hordes of people. They made their way back to where Goten and Marron were standing, but he didn't let go.

"Hi!" Pan cheerfully greeted. She had to remind herself that in this time, Goten and Marron had never met her before.

"Hello," Marron noticed that Trunks was still holding the girl's hand eagerly. Pan noticed Marron noticing and blushed. "My name's Marron."

"P-Kara. Kara Oakie." Pan extended her free hand to shake Marron's.

Marron jabbed Goten in the side with her elbow, reminding him to be nice. Goten was just trying to remember where he had seen this familiar looking girl before.

"Goten Son," He finally spoke up and shook her hand, "have we met somewhere before?" 

"Not officially," Pan said in attempt to cover her tracks, "but I saw you last night at Sloshy's."

"Yeah, but I mean before that." He studied her face. "You look awfully familiar."  

"People say that all the time." Pan chuckled nervously. "I must just have a familiar face."

All of sudden, a hundred disappointed groans could be heard. A large portion of the crowd turned away and started leaving. Some of them were yelling obscenities to the bouncer up front. Pan was grateful for the distraction. 

"They closed the doors." Goten said to Trunks. "I hope you brought a lot of extra cash."

"Don't worry." Trunks said. "It's taken care of."

Trunks held back a while, so all of the people left behind could make their complaints to the bouncer and leave. When the stragglers were gone, Trunks made his way up to the bouncer. "How much is it going to take this time Jr.?" 

"The usual." Jr. was a really big man, but most of it wasn't muscle. However, he did manage to intimidate the majority of people who gave him trouble. 

Trunks discreetly pulled out his wallet and made sure no one was around. He pulled out two, one-hundred dollar bills and handed them to the bouncer.

The bouncer took them, but reached out his hand for more. "With interest." He corrected. "I've already let more people in tonight than I should have."

Trunks made an insincere smile and pulled out another fifty as well. Jr. took the money and shoved it all in his breast pocket. Without checking for identification, he unhooked the rope that blocked the doorway and motioned for them to enter. "As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Briefs. Be sure to tell them Jr. sent you, they'll put you on the upper balcony."

"Gee Jr., thanks." Trunks said with sarcasm. He put his arm around Pan's waist and ushered her in, the others following.

"What's so great about the upper balcony?" Pan whispered to Trunks. 

"There are less people there because of weight restrictions." He answered.

"Not to mention, the upper balcony gets its own private bar." Goten mused.

"They also play the hat game up there." Marron said enthusiastically. 

"Hat game?"

"You don't know what the hat game is?" Goten couldn't believe that. They played the hat game at clubs across the world. "They play it in every club that I've ever been to."

"It's just like musical chairs, but with a hat. They choose a fast song and pass around the hat. The person who has the hat on their head keeps it on their head until the DJ yells for it to be passed. Whoever happens to have the hat at the end of the song wins it." Trunks explained. "It's just a stupid gimmick to make people stay longer and drink more."

Marron leaned forward to talk to Pan, "He's mad because he's never won the hat." 

"Have you ever won it?" She asked her.

"No, but Goten has. That's why I think that Trunks is just jealous." She whispered, knowing full well that Trunks could hear her. 

Trunks gave Marron a dirty look, but Pan just laughed at his expression. As they got closer to the upper balcony doors, Pan expected to hear some kind of hard, driving beat, but she didn't. She could have promised that she heard the song switch from a classic salsa beat to a waltz. 

Marron saw "Kara" giving a strange look as the music got louder. "This is kind of a strange club." She warned.

"So I gathered."

They walked through the doors and on to the balcony. Pan was amazed by the size of the interior. All of the seats had been torn out, and the floor had been leveled so that it wouldn't slant. There was a bar instead of an orchestra pit, and the stage had been converted to another dance floor with fancy lights flying all around, and a TV screen in the back showing people dancing. There were tons of people on the main floor, a lot more than there were on the upper level.  

Trunks separated from "Kara" as she looked over the balcony and walked over to Goten. "Do you think you and Marron could dance alone? I want to have some time with Kara."

Goten laughed at his friend. "But Trunks," He sarcastically whined, "I wanted to dance with _you_."

Trunks gave him a dirty look. "Very funny, I just want to get to know her a little better."

"Oh yeah," Goten said, making another sarcastic remark, "and everyone knows that a noisy club is the best place to have a deep, meaningful conversation."

Trunks continued his dirty look.

"Man, you really have it bad for this girl, don't you?" Goten chuckled.

Trunks' scowl turned instantly into a smile as he looked back to where she was standing. Goten threw his hands up in defeat. "I give up." He said as he walked over to Marron and escorted her to an area closer to the bar.

Trunks walked up behind "Kara" and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. As she turned to face him, the arm fell to around her waist. 'He's working fast tonight.' She thought.

"So, what do you want to do first?" He asked.

"I don't know. You decide, you've been here before."

"Are you thirsty?"

"Not really."

"Then dancing it is." He seemed a little reluctant in getting out onto the floor as he eyed the people dancing. "I have to admit though Kara, I'm not really good with waltzes."

"That's no excuse." She smiled at him as she took his hands into her own and led him out onto the dance floor. He just followed her. She put his right hand into her left and forcefully wrapped an arm around her waist as they began playing a faster waltz. He didn't mind being controlled by her. In fact, he blushed when she pulled closer to him as they started dancing.

She chuckled lightly, "This disco's music is… unique." 

"I think it adds to the charm."

Pan was slightly surprised at Trunks' comment. "It's unique, but it's…nice."

"Yeah, it's very nice." Trunks said as he pulled her closer and subtly sniffed her hair. As Pan felt his nose brush by her ear, she got the distinct feeling that he wasn't talking about the club anymore.

Pan heard Trunks mumble something, but she couldn't hear it. "I'm sorry?"

"Nothing," He denied, "I didn't say anything."

The dance continued quietly. Pan was wondering why he hadn't made anymore small talk, and why he was so silent. He would normally be chatting away. "Trunks, is something wrong? Why are you so quiet?"

"Nothing, there's nothing…"

"Ouch!" She screamed at the feeling of getting her foot stepped on.

"…wrong." He cringed. "Sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said returning to his arms, "Look at it this way, you didn't break anything this time."

"Yeah, but I could have." He silently wondered why he hadn't injured her. His weight should have, at least, made her limp, but she just kept dancing. He had completely shattered the foot, and his relationship with the last woman he had tried to waltz with.

He mumbled something again. This time, Pan strained to hear. She could barely make out what he was saying, "One, two, three… one, two…"

He was counting his steps! Pan had to stifle a chuckle. At her prom, he had been a more than reasonable dancer, what happened?

She suddenly bit her lips as she held in another scream. "Sorry." Trunks said. He was about to suggest that they sit that one out, for the sake of her feet, but then they changed the song. The song they were now playing was much faster. Trunks couldn't tell if it was classic American, or Celtic, but it didn't matter to him. "Now there's something I can handle." 

She was about to ask him why when he pulled her closer. They both blushed as they realized that they were now pressed up against one another, but Trunks paid it no heed. He regained full control and spun her around to the music. His feet seemed to move exactly where he wanted them to, and this time, that didn't include her feet. She was astonished at the skill and experience he seemed to have with this particular dance. She struggled to keep up at first, but managed to match his steps the entire way. After the song was over, Pan was left laughing, out of the shock and because of the fun she had just had.

"You can't dance? Yeah right." She laughed. "That was great! Where'd you learn that?"

"No where. I made it up. Waltzes are harder for me because the rhythm is so even and you have to dance the same way with each one, but faster dances are better. You can improvise on the rhythm."

Pan simply nodded. She had no idea Trunks could move like that, outside of the battlefield anyway, but she was starting to realize where exactly he had gotten his sense of rhythm.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Goten, I didn't know you could dance that well!" Marron said, trying to catch her breath. 

Goten smiled. The two of them had danced before, but he had never put so much feeling into it. He was hoping that Trunks' recent luck with the ladies would rub off on him. Besides, he had enjoyed surprising Marron like that.

"I guess all those years of fighting really came in handy. It was a good way for you to learn rhythm."

Goten remained silent, but thought about how if it were anybody else, he would have had to explain it. She seemed to understand him. Better, in some ways, than even Trunks.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The night continued. Both couples were having an incredible time. Trunks kept surprising Pan with his skill, which he had, ironically, picked up from the battle field. The DJ played all sorts of songs. It reminded Pan of ballroom dancing, almost.  Nobody had seemed to even notice the time flying by. It was all going too fast.

The DJ put on a faster, Latin sounding song and yelled, "Hat game!" through the microphone. Everyone cheered as he threw a hat out into the audience. All at once, a hundred hands reached up to try to get it, until it finally rested on someone's head. About every eight counts, the DJ would yell, "Pass!" and the hat would travel to the next head.

Trunks and Pan were way on the other side of the room, so they had little chance of even getting it, but Trunks didn't care. His attention was straight ahead. He did all the fancy moves he had done before, but he was still amazed how she could keep up with him for so long. It was Pan's turn to surprise him. She schemed on what she could do the next time he dipped her.

As if on cue, he dipped her, all the way back. As she slowly traveled down, she brought her knee up around his waist. She had expected him to blush, or even let go and send her head first to the ground, but he didn't. The surprise was hers when he grabbed the back of her leg and held her there.

She heard the DJ yell, "Pass!" as the people in she was facing, upside-down, handed her the hat. She quickly sat back up and placed the hat on Trunk's head, just as the song ended.

"Hey!" She laughed, "You won the hat!"

"Yeah, thanks to you. It should be yours."

"No way, it was on your head when the song ended."

He took the hat off to look at it. It was black, suede, and the brim was curved up. The top of it was rounded off. "You bring me luck." He said, pulling her closer, "I should hang around you more often, maybe it'll rub off on me."

Pan felt nervous about the sudden closeness. He was more comfortable, less constricted around her, and that wasn't necessarily good. 'I probably deserve this.' She thought, 'Mom and Dad would kill me if they saw me dancing like that.'

Trunks grabbed her waist as another slow song started. He hadn't realized that the smile she was wearing was one of discomfort. She wasn't about to tell him that though. She allowed him to dance closely as the beat started. Even though things were getting a little too close, she was still enjoying herself.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

On the other side of the room, Goten continued with Marron. He had been hoping for another slow song. With every turn, he had a new excuse to bury his nose in her hair. The slower beat allowed him to pull her closer, and wrap his arms around her. She didn't seem to notice. While Goten's attention was focused mainly on the blonde angel in his arms, Marron's attention was on Trunks and "Kara," that annoyed him. He attempted, several times, to swing her around so that her back was towards the other couple, but she would just turn her head, or push him back around so she could see. 

"Whoa, did you see that move she made?" Marron said as she observed. "It won him the hat."

"Yeah, look at that." Goten said with fake enthusiasm, "Marron, you look really nice tonight."

"Thanks Goten. You too." She said quickly. "You know, I wonder who her parents are. You were right, she's really familiar."

"Marron," His voice was soft and smooth, "what's that perfume you're wearing? It smells incredible."

"I don't know, I used my mom's." Again, she swung her head around quickly so she could watch the other couple. "Look at the smile on his face. He's not going to let her go without a fight."

Goten let out a sigh of frustration. She wasn't getting the point. "Marron, Trunks asked me to dance over here for a reason. I think he wants to be alone with Kara."

"Be alone? But we… they're…" Marron stared blankly before she finally got Goten's point. "Oh! Yeah, I guess I shouldn't spy on them. It would probably be bad if she noticed."

Goten chuckled in relief that he finally might get some attention from her. He picked up her hands and started dancing again, but they only got a few steps before she interrupted.

"Goten, I'm thirsty. Do you think you could…"

"Yeah, sure." He agreed disappointedly, predicting her request. "What do you want?"

"Well, I…"

"No, don't tell me. A club soda with lime." 

She nodded her head. "Right on, thanks Goten."

He walked back to the bar, shaking his head all the way. He was so close. If only she would have noticed…, but she didn't.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks bent down and rested his chin on Pan's shoulder. Her arms almost involuntarily moved up around his neck. They were so close, it was almost like they were hugging, as opposed to dancing. They had stopped "dancing" shortly after the song had started. They were at a simple rock now. 

She knew that encouraging him could only lead to disaster, but Pan couldn't help herself. It wasn't that she was tired, it was that she was enjoying the closeness. That was why she laid her head on his chest. That was why she rested the curve of her nose in the crook of his neck. 

Trunks closed his eyes with her response. He wanted her there, with him, in that moment forever. He couldn't take it anymore, so he moved, cautiously, hoping he wouldn't scare her away.

Pan felt him smell her hair. She could hear him sniff. His face traveled slowly, brushing against her own. His breath stirred her bangs, tickling her forehead. Her eyes closed without her permission. She knew what was happening. Her mind was shouting every logical reason for her to stop, but she didn't. She had never needed someone to look after her before, at least, not that she would admit, but she felt so warm and safe in that moment, in his arms. She wanted to stay there. 

His head moved further down, his forehead resting on hers. He reached his finger through her arms and tilted her head up slightly. She allowed her head to lift easily under his control, simply losing herself in the moment. She had, after all, dreamed of that moment her entire life. Why wouldn't she enjoy it? His nose brushed against hers now. She could feel his breath flowing around her mouth. He must have been close, real close. Instinctively she moistened her lips, in anticipation of what was to come. 

He was millimeters away from his target and getting closer. She wanted to let him reach it too… but she couldn't. "Trunks." She breathed, their lips so close, she could almost taste him. "all this dancing has made me thirsty." She said, reluctantly pulling herself out of his embrace. "Do you think you could get me a drink?"

He opened his eyes to see her standing there, looking very uncomfortable. He shook his head like he was trying to snap out of a daze. Kicking himself he realized, he had been too forward with her. "Sure, what do you want?"

"A Coke and grenadine."

"Cherry juice?" He finally realized why she hadn't been to too many bars.

"I'm not that much of a drinker." She chuckled nervously.

"All right, I'll be back." He walked towards the bar, still very unsure about what had just happened.

Pan watched him as he approached the bar. His back was still turned to her. Pan spotted the exit. It was only a few feet away. It would be easy. She could walk out the door, go back and get her spray, then surprise him on his way home. Sure, he would be hurt, but it's not like he would remember any of it anyway. She took a deep breath and hurried to the door. She was almost there, when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Kara?" A feminine voice asked.

Pan cringed as she turned to see who it was, even though she already knew. "Hi Marron."

"Where are you going?"

"I was just going to…um…go…" She was taking too long with her answer.

Marron got the point. "I hope you weren't leaving because of what happened." 

Pan shook her head, but gave Marron a questioning look.

Marron chuckled. "I didn't mean to spy. I try to make a point of keeping my nose out of my friends love interests. It's just that, Goten left to get me a drink, and I wanted to see how things were going. You have to believe me, Trunks is not just some fast jerk who wants to get you drunk so you'll go home with him. He's really hung up on you. I've known him long enough to be able to tell. That look in his eyes says it all. I even dated him for a while, and he never gave me that kind of look."

Pan was left at a loss of words after that. She had seen Trunks get that look in his eyes when he talked about Marron. It was right before they got engaged. "I…I'm not going to leave," She lied through her teeth, "but I still need to use the ladies room." She walked away. She felt bad, but she had to leave, there was no other way.

Marron watched sadly. The tone in "Kara's" voice had told all. Plus, the ladies' room was on the other side of the dance floor, opposite the exit. Marron turned away to find Goten. If she told him, he may be able to break it to Trunks easier. She shoveled through the people in effort to get to the bar. Something suddenly blocked her path.

She looked up to see a very large, ugly man looking slyly down at her. She knew this face very well, and turned to run, but he grabbed her, preventing her from going anywhere. "Hey, Marron is it?" The voice whispered in her ear. "You remember me don't you? We had a delightful conversation, and you were about to come with me for coffee, when that little gay boy stopped us."

Marron shivered. She remembered this guy alright. The last time she had gone to a club with Goten, he had come up behind her and tried to abduct her. There was no "delightful conversation," or "coffee" about it. He had tried to violate her. Luckily, Goten had been there, but this time, they were all the way at the bar. 

Pan was practically out the door when she heard Marron scream. She turned her head in time to see a large man holding Marron's mouth shut while pressing her against him. He was heading quickly to the exit left of where Pan was. A few people heard the scream, and noticed that the blonde girl in his arms did not want to go freely, but they just stood there, afraid to do anything. 

Pan looked around for Trunks and Goten, but they were no where to be seen. They obviously hadn't heard Marron scream, or realized that it was her. Pan had to do something. She couldn't just sit there and watch as her friend was taken out and raped, even if it would change the course of history.

"That wasn't very nice." The man whispered in Marron's ear again. "Hey honey, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to have a little fun." 

Marron was struggling as best she could against him, but he was too strong for her. Pan couldn't believe the cowardice of the people around. They knew what was happening, but they just stood there.

She hurried over. "Let her go!" She simply yelled, not wanted to show her excessive strength.

"Who's going to make me?" He looked around and saw who exactly was doing the talking. A disgusting smile spread across his face. He slowly scanned her up and down, obviously paying special attention to the area above her knees and below her shoulders.  

"Put her down." Pan said again. Her face wore a scowl. Her ki rose slightly as the intruder moved closer to where she was standing. 

He was still holding Marron, but he let go of her mouth to wrap his other arm around Pan, assuming that she too was weaker than him. That was a mistake Pan was bound and determined to make him pay for. He was strong, but to Pan, the stench of the alcohol he had just consumed was stronger. He pulled her up against him as well.

"You know," He purred in her ear, "I've always believed that three's company…"

Pan allowed her ki to rise again, but she didn't want to make a move until Marron was away and safe.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks ordered their drinks, then sat down with a thump. He let his head fall into his arms as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" Goten asked from beside.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said glumly.

"Hey, I thought you two were doing pretty good. What happened?"

"I tried to…kiss her." He said, embarrassed.

"Oh, the moment of truth." 

"Yeah, she didn't run away, but she didn't seem very…happy about it."

"Well, you've only known her for a couple of days." Goten pointed out, "It's not like you've known her for as long as you can remember, and have liked her for years. It's not like you've tried everything you know of to get her attention, but she doesn't even realize that you're hitting on her." Goten took a sip of his drink. He felt worse than before now.

Trunks chuckled, knowing exactly who Goten was talking about. "I don't even think Marron knows how you feel." He said, trying to be a comfort, but then he switched tactics. "You were awfully mean to her as a kid, maybe she holds it against you. In fact, she probably hates your guts for it."

Goten laughed, knowing Trunks was joking, "Well, she was ugly when she was a kid."

"Goten!" 

"She didn't even have a nose!" 

"She took after her father."

"My point exactly, but now she looks like her mother." Goten's voice returned to its seriousness. "She looks amazing." He put his head in his arms next to Trunks. "Besides, everyone looks ugly as a kid."

"Well, maybe everyone else, but not me." Trunks continued to joke.

"Are you kidding?" Goten laughed. "I've seen your baby pictures, you were one of the ugliest…"

"Excuse me," The bartender interrupted, "if you guys are ever going back to your dates, I suggest you leave now. If you don't soon, that guy over there is going to take them for himself."

Goten and Trunks turned around to see a very large man. He was pressing "Kara" and Marron up against him. Anyone could see that they didn't want to be there, but he didn't seem to care. Goten and Trunks' ki's flared when they noticed how low his arms were around heir waists, and how much lower his hands were venturing. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Marron yelled.

Pan stood there, struggling to keep her ki as low as a normal person's. Her jaw was tight and she was glaring at him. The man looked her over again and burped in her face, there was no longer any doubt that the man was drunk. Pan recoiled because of the smell.

"On second thought, Blondie's not worth that much trouble. Maybe I'll just take you." His fingers slid up the back of her skirt, and they were getting higher. 

Pan couldn't take it much longer. No one took advantage of her like that and lived to tell about it.

Thankfully, he let Marron slip out of his arms as he focused his attention on Pan. Marron fell to the ground, but quickly got up and ran over to Goten and Trunks who were rapidly approaching from the side. Goten protectively pushed her behind him, so he would be between her and the man.   

Pan's ki increased again. She was now simply trying to keep herself from going Super Saiyan… it would ruin everything. A blue aura slowly began to surround her.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Marron, isn't that the guy who tried to hurt you last time?" Goten asked, recognizing him.

"Yeah." She said, still a little shaky. 

"He's not going to live to see tomorrow! That no good, jerk face, son of a…" The profanity continued under Trunks' breath as he charged, ki risen, to the man who was harassing his girl.

"Trunks, wait!" Goten grabbed his arm. "Do you feel what I feel?"

Their jaws simultaneously dropped as they turned their heads and saw her. "Kara" was out of the man's arms. He had let go because of the shock. A blue aura burned around her as she levitated a foot and a half off the ground.

"Her ki…" Trunks started, his jaw slack and his eyes wide.

"It's so high." Goten continued with the same expression on his face.

"I didn't know she could do that."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan levitated higher. She never even said anything to him, but she figured he was so drunk, he wouldn't remember anyway. She was high enough now to where she could easily kick him in the head, despite her skirt. The impact threw him over a table to the right. He was barely conscious, but Pan still wasn't satisfied. She went over and grabbed his arm, throwing him across the floor. 

After he slid to a halt, she emitted a small ki blast on his arm. It didn't blow the arm off, but it left a burn that would probably cause a scar. It would give him something to remember her by. 

Turning around, she wiped her hands. It had taken virtually no effort, but she was still proud of herself. That pride, however, diminished fast when she turned around and saw everyone staring at her. Everyone in the club started applauding her, but Marron, Goten and Trunks were all looking at her like she had changed colors. She quickly grabbed her hair and was relieved to find it black and fine as opposed to gold and stiff. 

"At least, he won't be able to grab anybody else for a while." She sheepishly grinned at all of them.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The four walked down the side walk quietly. Pan had to fill out a police report saying that it was self defense. The police didn't give her any trouble… they had a hundred witnesses saying she was telling the truth.

Trunks walked to the side of Pan. His hands were in his pockets and he looked very uncomfortable. Marron and Goten were behind. Goten still had a protective arm around Marron's shoulders.

Pan was more than a little uncomfortable with the silence. "Look," She spoke up as she turned to face Goten and Marron, "I'm sorry if I've caused you any discomfort with having me around."

Marron smiled, "That's okay, I should thank you for what you did."

Goten and Trunks still looked a little spooked. She had released too much of her ki, much more than the strongest of any human's. "I didn't mean to lie. I didn't know who I could trust. I have a larger ki than normal for a fighter, and I didn't want anyone to attack me thinking I was the enemy."

"We understand, don't we Goten?" Marron asked, but got no response. She elbowed him in the side again.

"Oh! Yeah, sure." He was still lost in thought. Something with this girl's story didn't seem to sit right with him.

"Anyway," Marron gave Goten a dirty look, "you can trust us. Don't worry Kara."

"Thanks." Pan smiled softly.

From the background, Trunks gave Goten a silent message, one that he got quickly. "Marron, it's getting late. Why don't I…drive you home."

Marron got the point of Trunks' message too. He wanted to talk alone with Kara. "You're right, it's almost 1:30."

"Goten," Pan informed, "you don't have to pretend. I can read your ki perfectly."

Goten paused, unsure of what to do. Something was still off about her, and he couldn't put his finger on it. Why was she so strong? He wanted to ask her some questions, but he knew that Trunks would never forgive him if he interrogated her, especially at that time. He just smiled and nodded.

Picking up Marron, he flew into the night sky. When they were finally up high enough, Marron snuggled into Goten's chest. He was so warm, and she was so tired. He blushed, to his own surprise, at this simple action.

"Are you okay?" He asked concern filling his voice.

"I'm fine," She yawned, "just worn out, mostly by your dancing."

"Are you sure?"

"Goten, stop being so overprotective of me. That jerk didn't get anything, thanks to Kara, and I wasn't hurt. I'm fine."

Goten smiled, quietly wishing he could spend the rest of his life being over protective of her. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks and Pan continued to slowly walk sown the sidewalk, even though they weren't really going anywhere. The awkward silence continued, but Pan had had enough of awkward silences for the evening. 

"So whatever happened to your friend that was moving?" She asked.

"I don't know. He just didn't show up. He wasn't that great of a friend anyway. He was always quiet and spent most of his free time in a lab. He just works for my mom, so he likes to take his breaks when we go out, probably for company."

"Then why did you have a night out planned for him?"

"I think we just wanted an excuse to go out for ourselves. There's been too many people telling us to straighten up and act mature, so we needed an excuse."

"Oh." Pan nodded.

The awkward silence started again, but this time, Trunks had to get something straight. "About earlier tonight, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"No, you didn't." She sort of lied. "It's just that, I'm leaving in a little over a month and I don't think that's ample time to start a relationship."

"I rushed you, I'm sorry. I know I've only known you for a couple of days, but I feel like it's been a lot longer."

"In some ways," She started, inwardly laughing at the irony of it all, "I feel that way too. I don't know. I would like to see where this could go, but it will probably just make leaving harder."

"Well," He said, "we could take it slow."

"Slow is good." She kicked herself. The words coming out of her mouth were exactly the wrong ones. 

The wind kicked up and blew Trunks' hat forward. Pan caught it and put it on her head. "What do you think?" She laughed.

"I think it looks better on you." He chuckled. "Why don't you keep it?"

"No, it's your hat. You won it."

"Well, winning it was good enough for me. Since Goten saw it, I really don't have anymore use for it. Besides, it'll give you something to remember me by when you go back to your little corner of the world."

She smiled. He resisted the urge to kiss her at that very moment, which was very hard for him. She looked so beautiful under the street lights. He felt himself becoming lost in her eyes again. "Umm…" He tore himself away. "I would like to take you to dinner, soon. If I had somewhere I could reach you…"

"I don't really have a phone number right now. Why don't you give me yours?"

"Okay, that'll work." He fumbled through his wallet for a business card. He found one, and gave it to her. "Don't lose it or I'll have to come looking for your ki."  

She laughed. "It's getting late. I'd better go."

"Yeah it is." He said, disappointed to see her go.

She stood there for a moment, tapping the calling card against her fingers. She was unsure if what to do. Finally, she walked up and gave him a hug, which he gratefully accepted. Turning her head, she gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before saying, "Goodnight Trunks."

"Goodnight Kara." He whispered in her ear.

The bass in his voice was enough to drive her insane, so she quickly flew off, afraid of what she might give in to if she stayed there much longer.

As she was flying away, she turned back once more. She chuckled at the sight of him. There was an evident blush on his face and he was rubbing his cheek where she had kissed him.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

When Pan got back to the ship, she took off her hat and plopped on the bed. She sniffed the rim. It still smelled like him. She threw it to the side and took out the calling card that he had given her. She held it above and stared at it. She imagined it was him when she slowly lowered the piece of paper to her lips. 

"You're late." The deep, scratchy voice made her jump out of her skin. Her face was red with embarrassment.

"Mr. Piccolo, I was just…"

"Where were you?"

She swallowed hard. She could tell he was mad at her, she'd better answer this question carefully. "I was out."

His eyes narrowed. Man, was she ever going to get a beating for this.

"Mr. Piccolo," She began, "I've had a hard day and I was…"

"Get changed! I hope you're ready to train." He practically yelled.

"Right." She grabbed her clothes, dreading the night that was to come.

 In the middle of her sparring clothes laid the spray canister and a case of the vials that went with it. As she picked up her clothes, they fell under the bed, completely out of her sight.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	7. Chapter 8

Title: Waiting 

Author: The Noseless Wonder, with thanks, once again, to Trinity Blue for helping me out with the Piccolo         part. (Such an innocent name, such a violent imagination. 0:) 

Disclaimer: No money, no prospects, no realty, no multi-million dollar production agency. *Sigh* Although I                    wish I did own some of the DBZ characters;) I don't. So, don't come to me wanting to buy Vegeta, because I'm not his creator, nor do I own his copyright. (Besides, Bulma will get mad, and her temper is not something you want to mess around with. It's like playing with fire while swimming in lighter fluid.) 

Author's notes: What can I say? If anyone cares anymore, this fic WILL continue. I don't care if I do have a                  full time job, or if everyone abandons this thing as "an incomplete work" writing is too much fun just to "give up on". Oh, and I'm not the kind of person who just easily "loses interest" in her hobbies either. So, just be patient, the "end" will come. "J" "" 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

It was cold, being so far north. An icy breeze blew in once and a while, causing the strongest of men to shudder in its influence. The green carpet that lay beneath sparkled with frozen dampness, already showing the signs of early morning. The sun had yet to show its face, but every other star in the sky shined with unparalleled brilliance due to the fact that there was a new moon tonight. Only a few animals and wild grass lived here. It was too high and too cold for anything else. However, nothing stirred tonight. There were no distractions, nothing living to be concerned about. The world around them seemed to know what was happening, and all was still. 

Just over the horizon, however, two lights seemed to dance around, gaining notice from the occasional winter squirrel that happened to poke its head up. It seemed that even the animals could sense the intense power of the two warriors, who were sparring the night away. They had been sparring for quite a while, but one of the lights seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer by the hour. 

The two lights stopped, only for a moment, as the smaller one was slammed into the ground. It looked as if a meteor had hit the earth, creating a crater as it made impact. The few animals that had been watching quickly scurried underground, as the world seemed to rumble in response to its new wound. 

Pan let out a low groan as she forced herself to her knees. One thing she had learned during this entire night was never to let your guard down while facing Piccolo as an opponent. Her "teacher" didn't seem to ever let up. He was being ruthless. The landscape around them was darted with similar craters. This hadn't been the first time Piccolo had slammed her into the ground. 

"Get up!" Piccolo yelled bitterly, floating a few feet away. 

To say that Pan was getting tired of his insistence would be an understatement. He would yell at her every time she "landed", then he would beat her up again. He would then repeat the process, never giving her a chance to breathe between. Pan was giving it all she had. If she had been allowed to go Super Saiyan, this would have been more of a spar, rather than a senseless beating, which it was fast becoming. Without being able to make the transformation, she felt helpless. Maybe that was Piccolo's plan… to show her how much her and the others have relied on the transformation, other than on raw strength and skill. She wasn't sure, all she knew was that she had used up all of her energy. Any move she made now only succeeded in making her mad and injuring her further.  

Suddenly, she was knocked back as a small ki blast landed right next to her, throwing shards of rock at her and into her face. 

"I said get up!" Piccolo yelled, even louder. Pan let a small growl escape her throat as she wearily got to her feet and into home stance, signifying that she wasn't ready to give up. Gathering up what little strength she had left in her, she charged at him, only to be backhanded face first into the ground. When she turned herself around and sat up, she noticed that some of her ribs had been broken. She couldn't get up, so she slowly crab-walked away from where he was floating, afraid that she would attack again. She glared up at the Namek's disgusted face, she could tell that he knew exactly how much she was hurting, but he didn't seem to care. 

"You are no Son. No daughter of Gohan's and granddaughter of Goku's would fight so poorly. I don't even know why I bother." He had hoped that such a remark would make her angry enough to give her a push, but she just sat there, giving him no response or clue to what she was feeling. He gave up and walked away. She would be ready to train tomorrow night, maybe then she would… 

Piccolo's thought was suddenly interrupted by a kick to the head. He was knocked down to the ground, which surprised him more than anything. He looked up to see his attacker, who was still glaring at him the same way. 

"I am not my father or my grandfather." She simply said, as she turned away and started limping in the general direction of the ship. At this rate, it would take her a week to get there, but she didn't care, she just wanted to curl up in her warm bed and sleep. 

Piccolo stood up and wiped the purple-shaded blood off of his face. 'She's good.' He thought. 'I never even saw her coming. Imagine, she managed to give me much more than a decent workout. I thought I was going to lose it there for a while, and she never even went Super Saiyan. She could be a greater fighter than I, and maybe even Gohan if she wanted to. I should push her more, like I did with Gohan, maybe then she'll live up to her potential.' 

"It's obvious that you aren't." He called out. "Gohan would have had the guts to stay and fight, especially after delivering such a kick." 

She ignored him and kept walking. There was no way he was going to get her to stay longer. 

"But you're just a female… and a _human_ one at that." 

"My mother and grandmother are strong. What does it matter?" She said, finally stopping and giving him a response. She didn't turn around. She was angry, and she knew that it had been his goal to get her that way, and she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her like that. 

"Huh, I guess you're right. Because even your mother and grandmother would fight to defend the Son's family honor." 

"Family honor?" Where was this conversation going? 

"You heard me. The Son's are getting weaker. They've gone from being the strongest in the universe, to being…well…like you. And it only took three generations." He spoke, feeling her ki rise. "At this pace, your children will be as normal as the idiot who runs the neighborhood fast food place. You're weak, and because you are, your forefather's rank among the strongest will be lost, and your family's honor will die with Gohan and Goten." 

"I…am not weak." She defended. She was so tired, she didn't know whether to cry or hit him. 

"Really? What kind of achievements have you made? What kind of enemies have you fought?" 

"I…I went Super Saiyan two…and I…fought against a lot of enemies while we were trying to find the dark star dragon balls…I'm only one-fourth Saiyan. I wasn't even supposed to be strong enough to make the transformation at all." 

"So?" He said, looking like he was expecting her to say something new. "Your grandfather was labeled the strongest man in the universe, your father had surpassed him in strength by the time he was in his teens, even Goten, of all idiots, managed to go Super Saiyan at a younger age than any of them." 

"But I…" 

"How often do you train?" He interrupted. 

"I go over to the Briefs' house to spar with Trunks and…" 

"Ha!" He laughed. "Trunks hasn't really trained in years, and I imagine he's the same way in the future." 

"I train with Vegeta too!" She turned around, giving everything away. He'd won, she was angry. 

"Oh really? Is he in Super Saiyan when you do?" 

"Well I…haven't trained with him since I first went level two." 

Piccolo said nothing for a moment. He had made his point clear. "Goku is off training that boy who he thinks is Buu. He's going to be more deserving of the Son name than you are, but that doesn't really matter anymore. You _are_ weak, your family is weak and your children will be weak. The Son name means nothing anymore." 

Pan stood there, a shocked look on her face, her fists clenched so tightly, she could feel her nails digging into her skin. Her teacher, her mentor, the man her father revered and respected, the man the entire family had come to think of as an uncle/guardian, the man that had died for her father, was suddenly looking more like her enemy than a friend. It was one thing for a teacher to push a student, to make them angry, to make them explode, but to question her family's honor… it crossed a line. 

Another icy breeze blew by her, just strong enough to stir her raven hair. Hitting her tired joints and open wounds, the gentle wind made her shiver. She silently wondered if that icy breeze was warmer than Piccolo. 

'What would dad say if he heard this? He would be incensed. He would want me to fight back, to give _Mr_. Piccolo what he's been asking for.' 

A fiery aura suddenly appeared around her. Piccolo's artic stare turned into a look of surprise, of unexpectedness, which she liked. The aura blazed blue and red. It spun around her, picking up speed as she powered up even further. The reds and blues seemed to mix, then separate again.  The electricity flowing around her lit up the entire area, making her look like a small, grounded thunderstorm. The force of the power was making her hair whip around, and the grass was doing the same.  

Piccolo watched in amazement. This girl did have a lot of power and he was glad he was finally going to be able to see it. He was afraid she was going to go Super Saiyan, but she hadn't yet. 

Pan smirked and clenched her fists tighter. While letting out a blood-curdling scream, she powered up to what she felt was her max. Her aura exploded into a bright yellow dome, consuming everything within a 500-yard radius, including Piccolo. 

Preparing for the shock wave, Piccolo crossed his arms in front of his face and leaned inward, determined to stay on his feet. As the blast swallowed him, he felt her raw energy flowing around him. It felt like his whole body had fallen asleep, giving him the sensation of thousands of prickly needles all over his skin. The explosion was powerful…and strange, unlike anything he had ever felt before, which always did tend to be the generational tradition in her family.  

The aura faded, it was dark again. Piccolo waited a moment before moving. He thought for sure that he was going to look up and see Pan in level one or even level two. When he did look up, he was surprised. Pan wasn't even at Super Saiyan; she was just standing there. The power was still present, but the aura had diminished. It was now simply creating a soft blue glow. She looked normal. Her hair was still fine and black as night. He could tell there was a difference though. Her pupils had disappeared, and she was a lot more muscular. Not to mention, her angry expression had melted away. She wasn't smiling; in fact, she looked calmer than anything. 

"Pan?" Piccolo said. "Are you…?" 

She never let him finish that statement before her foot connected with his jaw, and his head jerked back. He doubled over in pain as her fist went into his gut. In one swift movement, Pan raised both of her hands above her head and brought them down on his back, causing him to slam into the ground, like she had done so many times that night. 

Ignoring the fact that he was in pain, Piccolo started to get up. Yet, before he got the chance to get to his feet, she lifted him by his gi and threw him into the air. Her image blurred away as she watched him involuntarily soar high into the air. Her image fazed back in and she was suddenly directly ahead of him. Piccolo had no time to move before he saw her fist coming towards him. He literally saw stars as he plummeted back towards the earth. She would not let him land. As he neared the ground, she kicked him in the ribs and sent him back into the sky. 

Her little game of tennis continued. She easily caught, and then tossed the Namek, who happened to be twice her size, over and over again. After noticing that he was finally unconscious, she decided to end it. On his final flight up, she gave him one more, hard blow to his back, sending him downward again. This time, however, she never bothered on stopping him. He landed with a hard thud. As the dust cleared, Pan looked on. A small smile of satisfaction appeared on her face when she realized that he had made a bigger crater than all of the ones she had made. 

She slowly floated down. This should have taught him a thing or two about over-pushing his student. Her smirk faded when she saw him laying there, out cold. If it weren't for his training tactics, no matter how hard they might be, her father would have never gotten as strong as he did. She probably wouldn't be as strong as she was either. Her father had always honored Piccolo, so she had always honored him, but she never understood why he deserved so much respect… not until now, anyway. He really was a good guardian to the earth, and a good friend to her family as well. He only pushed if it needed to be done, and she knew that now. 

She walked up towards the crater feeling guilty. Maybe she could make him more comfortable or something until he woke up. As she took that first step, she finally realized how much energy she had actually used up. Her knees were wobbly, and she felt as though they wouldn't even be able to hold her own weight. She took another step; she was at the edge of the crater looking down on him. She began to feel dizzy and everything got blurry. She dismissed it and tried again, only to trip over a rock. Pan was sent tumbling head first into the crater where she landed, not so softly, on a passed out Piccolo. The last thing she remembered before everything went dark was seeing a winter squirrel, standing over the crater, starring down at her. Then she blacked out as well. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

A cool breeze blew in from the window, making the long, white curtains flow freely in the air. She rolled over, expecting to feel the well-toned arm of the man she loved, but found nothing. His side of the bed was empty, and getting cold. Bulma sat up, looking around the room for his unique shadow, but she couldn't find it. 

"Go back to sleep, woman." He said, stepping back into the room from the balcony. 

"What's wrong Vegeta?" She asked. 

"Nothing you should concern yourself with." 

"What? Did my little Veggie-poo have a bad dream?" She teased, in her mock baby-coddling voice. "Or are you just restless?" 

He didn't lash back; he didn't even take that as an invitation to come back to bed, which slightly disturbed her. He said nothing, he simply continued looking out the window with narrowed eyes. It was almost like he was expecting something. "Vegeta, what's wrong?" He still didn't answer her. He was listening, but not to her. "Fine." She said in defeat. "See if I make you breakfast in the morning after ignoring me like that." She rolled over and went back to sleep. 

'What was that?' He thought. 'It was too far away for it to be Kakarott and that boy.' He couldn't just go searching for it. He wouldn't even know where to look. It had disappeared too quickly. Just the same, he decided to stay awake for the rest of the night. He would be waking up in a few hours anyway, and the fact that the woman wasn't cooking for him that morning meant that he would probably have to go kill something. That is, if he couldn't convince one of the brats into making it for him. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

She woke up feeling miserable. Her whole body ached, from her head to her feet. She also wondered why her bed was so hard, and dirty, and who had left the window open. At last, after much struggle, she managed to tear one eye open. She wasn't in her room on her bed; she was lying on the floor of some cave. Everything came back to her in a rush. She remembered the training, the insults, the fight, the transformation, beating up Piccolo, and then passing out on top of him. But how did she get in here? 

Ignoring her body's cries to lay down, she stood up. Still feeling dizzy, she had to grope the wall of the cave to keep her balance. She looked around. The sun was beginning to rise. It was getting warmer, but not by much. The cold wind that had been there that night was still lingering, but the cave faced in a direction away from it, so she couldn't feel its piercing chill. Her stomach growled loudly, protesting the fact that she hadn't eaten in almost a full day. There was a small pile of wood by the area that she had slept. It was burnt. There were also two apples. Not even caring who had given them to her, she chomped down. She was astonished by how sour they were. 

'This must have been Piccolo's doing.' She thought, reliving the guilt she had felt the night before about beating the tar out of him. 'Only he would have had enough sense to go through the trouble of finding me food that's barely edible.' She felt grateful to have had a fire to sleep by too. 

'He must owe my dad a favor or something.' She figured. 

After finishing her small, bitter, yet effective breakfast, she headed out of the cave. It took her more effort to fly because she was so weak, but it was still much faster than walking or driving a car. However, flying would release too much detectable energy, so when she got closer she decapsulated a car. It was a lot slower, but at least she could rest while driving. 

Pan got back to her ship a few hours after she left the cave. All that she was looking forward to was a hot bath and about three days worth of sleep. When she pulled up, however, she saw Piccolo meditating against a tree, and she feared that sleep would never come. 

She tried to walk past him. His eyes were closed. He was meditating after all; maybe she could get by without him even noticing her. She hurried by, keeping her ki low, and being as quiet as possible. "It's about time." He grunted. 

She froze, "Uh…good morning Mr. Piccolo. Thanks for the apples and the fire." 

He said nothing. He just continued to levitate, his arms and legs crossed and his eyes closed. 

"Umm…if you want to go train some more, just give me a few hours and I can…" 

"You don't have to train if you don't want to. You've proven yourself worthy of being a Saiyan, especially one of the Son family." He said, as if it was the hardest thing on earth. 

"I don't? Then why…?" 

"I came here to remind you, that even making one small difference in the time line could result in tragedy. Believe me, I know." He warned. "Your friends, Trunks, Goten and Krillin's daughter, you have to make them forget, don't waste anymore time." 

"Okay, I know they shouldn't have seen me. I was sloppy." She admitted. "As soon as I see them next, I will rectify my mistake." 

She turned and walked into the ship, figuring their conversation to be over. 

"Pan," He said, "Your father…will be proud when I tell him what happened." 

She smiled softly at him and walked back into the ship. 'No wonder Dad said that he loved training with Mr. Piccolo. He's full of so many surprises.'                 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks plopped down in his desk chair. He leaned forward, putting his head in his hands and sighing heavily. The day had been a nightmare. His peaceful slumber had been interrupted by his mom, who had woken him up and informed him that this one week of his "summer off" was going to be spent planning the yearly budget for Capsule Corporation. She was too groggy to go into details, but judging by her plugged up nose, and the fact that his father was yelling something in the background about her vomiting on him, Trunks gathered she was sick.

The day progressed and things only got better. The power went out across the entire corporate building, and the back-up generators were slow, causing everything he had gotten done that day to be erased off of the computer he was working on. When he had made the polite request to his secretary to re-write everything he had lost, she walked out the door, yelling something about him sending her last paycheck through the mail. 

It was still morning, somewhere between eleven and one, he could only guess. The record books and the paper work, however, were already forming a giant mountain on the top of his desk. There was even another small mound forming on the floor. As much as he could get done, the piles only seemed to grow bigger. 

After successfully losing his phone five or six times, Trunks finally recruited the closest person he could find that would work for the cheapest pay. The boy's only job was simply to answer the phone, take messages, and stop ANYONE from walking into his office unless they were related. Unfortunately, the boy seemed to have trouble grasping the true meaning of the phase "hold all my calls". 

Trunks had almost mentally snapped when the waste disposal robots began to bring trash in, rather than take it out. The floor of his office was now completely covered in bits of crumpled paper and other people's lunches, as was the entire building. He looked down at the clock and groaned. On any other day this summer, he would be waking up right about this time, ready to take a long, hot shower before settling down to watch TV or hang out with Goten and Marron, except for on those dreadful days when his dad would make him train, but even training was preferable over this.    

A small, warm breeze blew in from the open window. The sky was teasing him, he was sure of it. He got up, fully determined to slam the window shut, like he should do, as opposed to climbing out of it and taking off in flight, like he wanted to do. Before he could get it all the way shut, another breeze blew in, this time carrying the sent of a summer's day with it. Oh how he wanted to relax by flying through the clouds, taking off his stuffy suit and finding some nice spot to just lay down on. Maybe he would even camp out. 

That was the last straw, the temptation was too great; he grabbed a capsule with a change of clothes inside, and started taking off his tie. He was half way out, unwavering in his decision to make a run for it, when the intercom buzzed. It nearly made him jump out of his skin. 

Reluctantly, he climbed back in the window and started searching for the phone, again. He followed the sound as best as he could. It eventually led it to his desk, where he found the cord. Following the cord, he finally found the phone. It was underneath a half-eaten piece of pizza left over from that day's breakfast. He picked up the phone, only to hear a dial tone. 

"Figures." He sighed. 

"Mr. Briefs?" The young boy called while walking in the door. "Why didn't you answer my call?" 

"I had to find the phone first Toby." The headache that had been menacing Trunks all morning was now making good on its threat to get stronger. 

"It's Timmy sir." He corrected. The squeak in his voice not only showed how truly young the boy was, but it also sent a shockwave of pain directly up to Trunks' head. "There's a Mr. Goten on the line for you." 

"Tell him to go away." 

"He says it's important." Timmy said. 

Trunks laid his head down on his desk. At least this would be an excuse to take a break from work. "Okay, I'll take it, thank you." 

Timmy walked out the door and Trunks picked up the phone hoping that Goten was calling to tell him that there was some monster threatening everyone's lives and they needed his help to defeat it. "Hello?" 

"Hey bud!" The familiar voice greeted from the other side, a little too loudly for Trunks. 

"Hey Goten. What's up?" 

"Oh…nothing much." He simply replied. 

"Goten, you called while I was kind of in the middle of something important." 

"Well sooooorry." He said insincerely. 

"My secretary said it was something significant. What's wrong?" 

"Well…I…" He went silent. 

"Goten?" 

"Well, Marron's been talking about this guy, Unagi. Have you heard anything about him?" 

Trunks threw his hands up in defeat. He was rapidly losing patience with his friend. Today was NOT the day to bother him with something so trivial. "Goten, you called me for that?! Are we back in high school or something?" 

"Well…I just wanted to…" 

"You've got to stop being so jealous. It's not like you two are involved. As far as she knows, she's free to date whoever she pleases." 

"I'm not jealous!" Goten defended. "I'm just…concerned…as any good friend would be." 

"Yeah, right." Trunks calmed down. "Look, I've heard her talk about him too, but I'm not sure if it's a crush, a relationship, or if he's just a friend." 

"Oh." Goten replied disappointedly. 

"Well, what do you expect? You won't even tell her about your feelings. If you don't ask her out soon, I will, just despite you." 

"You wouldn't do that." 

"Try me." 

Goten didn't believe him. "Whatever happened to Kara?" 

Trunks remained silent. 

"That good, huh? What happened?" 

"I really don't want to talk about it." He coolly stated. 

"Wow, what'd she do?" 

Trunks gave no answer. 

"Let me guess. She was after your money, just like all the others?" 

"No," Trunks denied. "She wasn't like that." 

"Then why'd you dump her?" Goten pried. 

"I didn't dump her." 

"Then why'd she dump you?" 

"She hasn't dumped me!" Trunks started. "She just…hasn't called me. Not since the club anyway." 

Goten just sat there on the phone for a minute. He wasn't sure what to say. He should've just kept his mouth shut. "Well…maybe it was for the better." 

"Why would you say that?!" Trunks defended. "She's probably just busy. She IS visiting relatives after all." 

"Right, well, I didn't think she was good for you anyway." He said. "It seemed like she was trying to hide something." 

"She WAS trying to hide something. She can fight, remember?!" 

"There was something more than that. Her story didn't match up very well." 

"Goten, she was probably just concealing her true identity for the same reason we do. Believe me, I'm sure that the last thing she wants to do is attract unwanted attention." Trunks defended, wondering where Goten came off saying something like that. 

"How come no one's ever felt her ki before?" 

"She hides it. Plus, she lives far away. Maybe we were out of range or something." 

"No, someone would have felt it. Either your dad or mine could have sensed that level of energy from outer space if they needed to. Besides, someone would have had to train her. You can't get that strong just by hiding your ki all your life." 

"Well, maybe she was the exception. Goten, I would think you of all people would understand the need to keep _some_ secrets from the world." 

"I do, I just…well… something about her doesn't sit right with me, that's all." 

"Well," Trunks fumed. "She doesn't need to win your approval. She sits fine with me, and that's all that matters. I trust her, and I would think, as a friend, you would trust her too." 

"But Trunks…" 

"Look Goten, you keep your nose in your own business, and I'll keep my nose in mine, all right?" Trunks all but yelled. 

"Fine." Goten surrendered, "Just don't come crying to me when she dumps you and takes you for all the money you're worth.  
  
  


Trunks was about to hang up on him but he _really_ wanted to get in the last word. "Oh, by the way, Unagi is some huge, rich, blonde guy who happens to be inheriting one of our largest client's companies. Eighteen set him up with her a few days ago, and she hasn't stopped talking about him since." 

The only response Trunks got was a growl and a click, followed shortly by a dial tone. 

He slammed the receiver down and growled as well. He refused to let what Goten had said get on his nerves. He picked up a record book and started reading, determined to shove the entire conversation out of his head. 

"Mr. Briefs?" Timmy said loudly, barging through the door. 

"What?!" Trunks jumped up and roared, slamming his book down on the desk and breaking it in the process. Realizing he had Timmy just about frozen in fear, he quickly regained composer, thankful he didn't transform. "What's wrong?" He continued, much more quietly. 

"There's a woman here to see you." The young boy choked out. 

"Well, thanks Tommy…" 

"Timmy." 

"…but I don't want to talk to anyone unless they know how to balance the corporate budget, or reprogram a dozen waste disposal robots." Trunks plopped down in his chair and opened the top half of the book he broke. 

"Sir, she's being pretty persistent. She says it's important." 

"I don't care. Just tell her to leave a note and put it somewhere I can find it." 

"Umm…okay." The boy walked out the door, a sweat drop forming on his forehead. 

Trunks shook his head and tried to focus on the task at hand. He finally found the place where he had left off, when he heard a thump and the door opened. He had to stand up just to see over the stack of papers and books on his desk. 

"Jimmy? Are you…?" He froze. Instead of seeing the squeaky-voiced boy secretary, who happened to be in the middle of puberty, he saw the bright eyes and the brilliant smile of the one woman he had been thinking about for so many days. 

"Hi Trunks." She said, hoping he hadn't forgotten about her, although if he had, it would make her job a lot easier. It had been almost a week. She had promised to call him, but Piccolo had been very diligent about her not talking to Trunks anymore. It was for the best anyway. She could only end up getting hurt. The only reason she was there today was to spray him with the formula. 

"Kara, hi!" Once again, he slapped himself mentally for sounding so eager. He was supposed to be mad at her for ditching him. 

"Mr. Briefs!" The boy yelled while running into the office. He was rubbing the back of his head, which still hurt after his run-in with Pan. "I tried to stop her, but…she pushed me into the wall." 

"Oh, that's okay Tony…" 

"Timmy." He corrected. 

"…. she's a friend." 

Timmy shook his head and walked back out the door. He was beginning to see why the original secretary had chosen today to quit. 

A small silence occurred as Pan made her way around the office. 'Must be yearly budget time again.' She thought, observing the mountains of paper work and trash. "So…doing a little redecorating?" 

"Heh, hardly." Trunks laughed, mostly in frustration. "I just have a slight backlog in the paperwork department." 

"That much is apparent." She observed. 

"So…um…what can I help you with?" Trunks felt a little awkward, asking such a question, but he hadn't seen or heard from her in nearly a week, and it was a little strange for her to just show up at his office. 

"Well, I just came by to see if you wanted to go to lunch or something." 

"Oh," He was more than slightly surprised at her invitation. If she wanted to dump him, she could have just called him on the phone. There was no reason for her to come all the way down and talk to him in person for that. "Actually, as you can see, I've got a lot of work to do." 

It didn't take much for Pan to detect a tone of irritation in his voice. 'Whoa, what a blow off. He could've just said that he wasn't interested. I should have called him. No, I'm here to make him forget, not to encourage this. It's for the best this way.' She knew she had yet to truly convince herself of that. 

"Sorry." He said, returning to his work. 

"That's okay." She faintly smiled at him. "Maybe some other time then." 

She reached into purse for the spray, but pulled back when she remembered the security cameras in his office. 'I'll have to wait and get him after he's off of work. The sooner this thing ends the better.' 

Trunks watched as she turned to walk out the door. This woman had been the foremost thought in his brain since the day he first laid eyes on her. This woman's smile itself had been the sole cause of so many of his sleepless nights, her eyes continually haunting his dreams. The smell of her perfume was enough to make him break out in a sweat. That simple kiss on the cheek she had given away had completely weakened him, making him feel as vulnerable as a newborn kitten. He didn't think it was possible to be so affected by a woman. He wasn't exactly sure what it was that he was feeling towards her. Whether it was love, or just another infatuation, he couldn't tell, but in any case, he couldn't just let her walk out that door. If she did, he knew she would never be back. "Kara?" He said quickly.   

"Yeah?" She turned, just in time to see him trip over a pile of trash, just to get to her. 

"Maybe we could…well…order in, or something." 

"I'd like that." She smiled. 

"Great." He felt a large rush of relief sweep over him. Maybe he was going to make progress with this girl after all. He didn't even seem to notice that he was staring blankly at her. 

"Trunks? Is something wrong?" 

"Huh?" He jumped. "No, is Chinese okay?" 

"Perfect." 

"I'll just call it in. I hope you don't mind if I get some work done while we're waiting. I'm pretty swamped around here." He was trying to give some sort of explanation for his earlier comment, hoping she wasn't completely insulted by it. 

"No kidding. Is there anything I can do to help?" She looked around the room, trying to figure out how long it would take him to clean it up. 

"Do you happen to be an accountant, or expert on robot repair?" He asked. 

"No, but I can straighten up around here, and file stuff too." 

"Our filing system is a little…" 

"Let me guess, you organize your accounts by size, not by name." She interrupted. 

Trunks gave her a strange look. "How did you…?" 

"I worked as a secretary for a friend one summer. He worked in a big corporation like this, and they had the same filing system." She made sure to leave out the fact that he friend was him. She knew where everything in his office went. The whole building turned into a war zone every time yearly budget went around, and she knew how to handle it when it did.  

Trunks smiled, keeping in mind that he needed a new secretary. She was definitely someone he wouldn't mind being around all day, every day, he was sure of that. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Eight hours later, Trunks and Kara's daylong challenge had finally been completed. They had long since finished their order-in Chinese lunch and were now finishing off their dinner. 

The last piece of trash had been thrown away, the last file tucked where it belonged. The budget had been planned, organized and copied, and the robots had been reprogrammed. The sun had finished its daily shift, showing off its true beauty with an extraordinary sunset. The bright pink and orange clouds now cast an eerie glow into Trunks' office, and onto the couch where the two sat. 

"I don't know what I would have done without you today Kara." Trunks said. 

"Neither do I." 

"Was today hectic enough for you?" 

"Yeah, I would say so." 

Timmy walked through the door. He had stayed all day, but only because Trunks had promised him a small bonus. He looked as tired as the other two did. Running copies and answering phones took a lot more out of him then he thought it would, otherwise, he probably wouldn't have stayed as long as he did. 

"I'm going home Mr. Briefs. Is there anything else?" He asked, praying as hard as he could that his response would be no. 

"No, thanks for staying today Timmy." 

"Timmy." The boy automatically corrected. 

"Right, that's what I said." Trunks laughed. He hadn't been aware that he had kept calling him by the wrong name until Kara had pointed it out to him. 

Timmy opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't. Instead he decided to count his blessings and leave while he still could. 

Pan chuckled as Timmy walked out the door. "Well it's about time you got it right." 

Trunks looked out the window and sighed. The view outside was almost as breathtaking as the view next to him. "It's a beautiful night. What do you say we go for a walk and get some ice cream or something?" 

"I think that's a good idea, but skip the ice cream, I'm stuffed." She lied. Truth was, she was still very hungry; she just needed to get him away from the public eye. 

They walked out of the building. Trunks turned on the security system, leaving the entire place to the security guards and the newly reprogrammed waste disposal robots. "Where do you want to go?" 

"Anywhere." 

Trunks put his arm around her shoulders and escorted her to a nearby park. It wasn't a very big park, but it had a nice view of the sunset. They walked for a few minutes without saying anything. The sky was mostly clear, the temperature was perfect, and the clouds that were there were still shinning red and orange. 

Pan kept her hand in her purse, on the spray can. She would need to catch him off guard; otherwise, his reflexes would be able to stop her before she got it in his eyes.  She was just glad he had taken off his glasses. It made for one less obstacle to pass. 

She wished she could just take this a little further. Maybe someday, if she ever had the courage, she could use this instance to prove her argument. To prove that there really could be something between them if it wasn't for the age difference. She looked up into his eyes. He looked down at her, his eyes reflected the affection for her that had always been there, but this time, it was different. There was something else that those eyes said to her this time. 

The battle of truly how far she would let this go had raged in her mind since the night after the club. Everything within her being told her to go ahead with it. It was about time she got this kind of attention. Her brain, however, was making a convincing argument to spray him as soon as possible. It kept reminding her that she would have to do it eventually anyway, and the later she did it, the more it would hurt. Normally, she would just think it out a little more, but with Piccolo looking over her shoulder, she reluctantly sided with her brain. Despite what she wanted, she had to consider what was best. Man, she was beginning to really hate that phrase. 

Trunks was glad he had gotten to spend the day with her. He had a good time at work, with her there, which Trunks thought was amazing. Work was never fun for him. That is, unless he got to fiddle around with a new product. Despite the fact that they had been rushing around all day, they had actually had a few good conversations. He felt like he knew her a lot better now. She was exactly the type of girl he could imagine spending the rest of his life with. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she seemed to be precisely what he was looking for. She was attractive, she could take care of herself, she could fight _and_ dance, she had a brain, and she wasn't after his money. Goten had been right about something though. There were a few things about her story that didn't match up. Maybe that's why she hadn't talked to him since that night. 

No, Goten was just being an idiot again. There was no was she could be that good of an actress. Besides, he knew what signs to look for. He had fallen under more than a couple of girl's spells. Those were the girls who had wanted to jump right into bed with him, the girls who wanted to get married after two weeks of dating, and the girls who had tried too hard. Those girls were all out to get his money, his inheritance, or even some of Capsule Corporation's technology. They all had exhibited the same type of behavior… behavior that was _not_ characteristic of Kara. 

She was going too slowly to be conning him. She seemed to be comfortable around him, as opposed to trying so hard to be exactly what he wanted. Besides, you can't just pretend to know how to fight; it was something you had to pick up after a lifetime of training. She hadn't even tried to get any information from him either. When she was in the office, she was around him all the time; she hadn't even gone near the computer, which was where all the important information was kept. Any _decent_ con would know that. 

There was nothing she had done that deserved any kind of suspicion. He was just going to enjoy her company while he could. Goten would just have to keep his nose out of his business. There was however, one question that Trunks did have for Kara. Something that had been bugging him for a few days now.  

"Kara? Can I ask you something?" He asked, breaking the silence between the two. 

"Yeah." 

"Why didn't you call?" 

"Trunks," She laughed, "I'm sure so many of the girls you dated would love to see you with the tables turned. I bet you left a lot of them with the same question. 'Why didn't he call?'" 

Trunks chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure, but really, why didn't you?" 

"I…" Pan had to think of some plausible excuse quickly. She couldn't just tell him what had really happened. "I just had some…family problems." 

Trunks gave her a questioning look. 

"Well, not problems…really." She quickly covered. "My…uncle did think that I had been training hard enough lately, so he took me out to the wilderness and we…sparred for a few days." 

"Who's your uncle?" He asked, wondering who had the strength to train her. 

"No one anyone's ever heard of before." She lied. "He's just an old hermit who doesn't like to go out in public very often." 

"I never felt your ki. How hard did you train?" 

Pan began to sweat. He was asking a lot of questions. "My uncle…taught me everything I know. He has a unique ability to hide his ki, and so do I." 

Trunks shook his head like he understood, but really, he was only more confused. 

Another silence occurred. Pan looked up at the stars, admiring how many there were and how much they shined. The sun was set now, and there were a ton of stars to be seen. Funny, they seemed to shine brighter in the past. Trunks, on the other hand, was only looking at _her_. The same feelings for her he had experienced that night at the club were starting to pop up again. 

"I understand." He spoke softly, almost as if he wasn't really paying attention to his own words. His focus seemed to be elsewhere. "I know what it's like to have a relative that pushes so hard to train more. My father does that to me." 

Trunks stepped in front of her and looked down into her eyes. Pan blushed at the expression that Trunks had on his face. She knew what that look meant. He just kept staring at her, she wasn't sure what to do. She knew what she wanted to do, and she knew what she needed to do, but her brain and her heart were disagreeing so much, she felt as if she could be torn in two. 

Her hand was still on the spray can. Her mind screaming at her, 'This is the perfect time! Do it now!! He's defenseless!' She didn't move. Her hand remained there, on the spray can. 

"Well," She replied, searching for any grasp whatsoever on the situation. "I'll be going away to train with him after these two months are over, so that should make him…happy…" 

Her words trailed of as Trunks lowered his head dangerously close to hers. Stroking her jaw line with his fingers, he brought himself nearer, being cautious and slow, in case she wanted to back off again. 

The temperature in the air seemed to rise. Pan could feel his soft touch, and she was almost sure that he could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Their noses brushed together. Trunks paused his descent one more time, as if to ask her permission. She could feel his warm breath swirling around her mouth. She didn't want him to stop. 

Finally, his lips met hers. He went softly at first. He wanted to make sure that she was going to kiss him back. She stepped closer, deepening the union, and giving him the answer he had wanted. His fingers slipped off her jaw and he wrapped his arms around her waist bringing her so close, she was pressed against him. Inside of her purse, she hesitantly let go of the spray can. Her hands climbed slowly up his arms, and came to a rest around his neck, returning his warm embrace. He could feel her fingers combing through his hair, making him want to go further.  

The moment lasted what was sure to be a long time. Neither was aware of how much time had actually gone by. The kiss deepened still, making it difficult to breathe. Pan tensed at the sudden journey Trunks was taking, but she made no move to stop. She only reciprocated. She wanted to know what this part of him was like, but if things kept moving at the rate they were moving, she would have to pull away. There was a line she had set for herself a long time ago about how far a relationship could go and when it could go there, and she didn't want to cross that line, even with Trunks. 

Finally, they broke, each trying to catch their breaths. Pan felt a sudden surge of embarrassment as the heat rose to her cheeks. She wasn't exactly sure of what to say or do after something like that. She wasn't really experienced with these kinds of relationships. "That was…nice." She simply stated. 

"Yeah." Trunks agreed, still trying to catch his breath. He was relieved that she had said that, instead of running away. Maybe now they could actually start seeing each other. 

Pan looked at her watch. It was already nine. "It's getting kind of late." She said, trying to make any excuse to get out of there. "I should be going. My uncle worries about me if I'm not home by dark." 

"Okay," He smiled. "Can I walk…fly you home?" 

"No thanks. He doesn't like visitors." 

"Right, before you go though…" He took one of her hands in his, and started playing with her fingers. Her knees about melted. 

"Yeah?" 

"There's a formal dinner at Capsule Corp. in a couple weeks from now. I was kind of hoping you would be my guest. It would be nice to have someone there who isn't completely dull." He said. 

"I would love to go." She accepted without even thinking. 

"Great, but I… hope to see you before then too." 

She smiled, "I'll give you a call." 

He gave her a weird look. 

"Really." She laughed. "I will." 

"Okay," He bent down and gave her another soft kiss. "Goodnight." 

"Goodnight." She said as she turned and walked away. She was grateful to be of some distance away when a tear slipped down her cheek. She had put up a good façade, but who knew how long it was going to last. 'What am I going to do?' She asked herself. 

Trunks looked on as he saw her hop into the sky. He was disappointed that she had to leave so soon, but he wasn't about to complain that he hadn't had a good time. "Yes!" He yelled, while punching the air. He knew she was going to be invading his dreams again that night, and he couldn't wait. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Unagi---- as in "Unagi Roll"-----broiled eel and avocado    * yummy * 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,  


	8. Chapter 9

Title: "Waiting" Chapter 9

Author: The Noseless Wonder

Disclaimer:  Yes! I DO own Dragon Ball! In fact, I own everything! Even you! Bwahahahahahahahahaha! No, really, I don't,                  but I wish I did. I make no money off of this. In fact, I make no money at all. 

Author's Notes: Wow! Twenty-eight reviews on fanfiction.net! I never thought I would entertain that many people in just one                            chapter. Thanks to anyone who sent me an email, signed my homepage GB, or wrote a review. It made me                         want to get off my duff…well…_on_ my duff and write more. By the way, it'll be more interesting in chapters to                         come. J 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Exhausted, he hit the ground, trying desperately to catch his breath. Sweat poured from his brow and soaked his shirt, mixing with blood from scrapes and cuts he had earned that morning. He lay in the middle of a grassy field. He wasn't aware of how they had gotten there. As he recalled, they had started out in the middle of a dry, desert. 

His opponent approached, he could sense his power and smell him too. He was getting close. His muscles didn't seem to want to move. The cool, long grass he was laying on was tempting him, calling for him to just lay there. He scratched his arm where a blade of grass was lightly brushing it, causing an itch. Surprisingly, that simple movement had taken a lot more effort than it should have. He would have given anything at that moment to be lying in his cool bed, with his wife, still sleeping the morning away. 

A shadow slowly covered him. His rival was standing over him, trying to catch his breath as well. With brow furrowed, he tried his best to simply stand up. He managed to get the top half of his body off the ground, so he was sitting up. However, his body begged to be rested, and the recent memory of that cool grass was zapping his determination. Quickly, he fell back down to the earth; still reeling over the amount of strength it had taken for him just to sit up. A light chuckle came from his opponent.

"Hehehe, maybe we should take a little break." 

"That would be good idea." Goten eagerly agreed. "How long have we been going at this?" 

"Oh, about six hours. It's almost eleven now." Gohan said, grunting as he too got down to lay on the soft, plush grass. "Videl gave me a capsule with some food in it before I left this morning. What do say we eat lunch?"

"You read my mind, brother. I'm starved." 

Gohan dug threw his pocket and pulled out a small capsule. After pushing down on the button on top, he threw it down on the ground, where it quickly exploded and turned into a small refrigerator, which was stocked full of food.

After Gohan opened the door, both brothers sat there, just staring, in awe of the sheer amount of consumables. Both of their stomachs simultaneously growled, as if to recognize their old friend the refrigerator. Goten wiped the small collection of drool away that was quickly gathering at the side of his mouth. Neither of them had realized how truly hungry they were, or how long it had been since they had eaten last. It was going to be a good lunch. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

One hour later, both brothers were lying on the grass. Their stomachs had recovered from the vast amounts of food they ate in a short time. Their Saiyan metabolism made it easy for them to eat, and then get back to training. However, the warm, noontime sun was beating down on them as the grass cooled their backs. The comfort of their position, plus the large meal they had just eaten was making it hard for either of them to admit they needed to get back to training. All they really wanted to do was sleep. 

"That was really good. Did Videl make all that?" Goten asked, still picking pieces of fish out of his teeth. 

"Yeah, she used Mother's recipes. She fixed all of it yesterday, so Goku Jr. and I could have something to eat while we were camping." 

"Oh really? When are you going?"

"Well, we were supposed to go today." Gohan sighed. "I don't envy Videl's job when she woke him up this morning and told him that I couldn't go." 

"You…cancelled your trip? But that was supposed to be Goku's first camping trip wasn't it?"

"Well…yeah. It was supposed to be a birthday thing. You know, father and son bonding, but…"

"Why on earth did you do that?!" Goten interrupted. 

"Goten, this is more important. It couldn't wait any longer."

"Yes, it could!" Goten yelled. "I could have just stayed outside in the forest somewhere, or borrowed a capsule house from Ms. Bulma, or…" 

"No," Gohan said calmly, "It would have kept you away from your family for even longer."

Goten stared at his brother, trying to figure out what he was so sullen about all of a sudden. "It's only a day longer. I miss her, but it's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is. Anything that keeps you away from the ones you love is a big deal." Gohan sighed deeply. "Believe me, I know what you're feeling, because I feel it for Videl. You live your life looking forward to that time of night when she's asleep and you're not so you can sit there and stare at her without her noticing. Your greatest want is to make her happy, yet your greatest fear is making her mad, or hurting her. You wake up when she has a nightmare, even if she's still sound asleep. You heart jumps if she gets hurt, even though you're more than a mile away. You seem to know when she needs to be held, comforted, or, well… if you two need some time alone, even if she's doing a good job of masking her emotions. It causes pain whenever you're not around her when you know you should be." 

Gohan turned his head away from the clouds to see if Goten was even still awake. He was intently staring straight up, as if the sky held the answers to all of life's problems. "I almost hurt her. She seemed okay when I left, but I never got the chance to talk to her about it. Now I'm out here, for who knows how long, and she has no idea how much I love her, and how much I want to be with her, resolving this. I'm away from her so I can train, train to fight, but fighting can only take me further away from her and our future children. It's a fate that Father was willing to accept, but I'm not. I miss her; I wish I knew if she's okay. She's all I've been able to think about; I'm surprised I didn't accidentally let my guard down this morning. It's driving me insane."

"I've noticed."

"How could you tell?"

"Your still relatively new at this marriage thing. You've hardly been away from her at all. I don't know if it's love, or something in our Saiyan heritage, but what ever it is that makes us love-sick dogs, I'm glad it's there. It's a bond of some sort that keeps us with our wives and families. It's painful when we're not with them, but it makes it that much better when we are. It was obvious your heart and mind weren't with today's spar." 

" I don't know." Goten contemplatively sighed, "You're pretty banged up yourself. Maybe you had some trouble staying focused too." 

"Yeah," Gohan admitted. "I was thinking about Panny."

Goten put his hands behind his head and returned his gaze to the clouds. Gohan took off his white t-shirt and used it to cushion his head, allowing the sun to dry off the sweat from his bare chest. They were both quiet, obviously being thoughtful about something. A light breeze stirred up, making Goten want to go to sleep while he was still so comfortable. He couldn't if he wanted to though. His mind was filled. He was still worried about his wife, he felt guilty that he had caused Gohan to miss a camping trip with his son, and he was wondering about his niece and what she was up to. 

"Brother?" Goten said, breaking serenity.

"Hmm?" Gohan grunted, his awareness coming back after he almost dozed off.

"Do you think she's okay?" 

"Who?"

"Panny. Do you think she's doing okay being so far into the past?"

"If she got there alright, which Trunks assures me she did, then I'm sure she's fine." Gohan answered. "She might be lonely and stir crazy, but she can survive anything."

"That's good. I hope she's not mad at me."

"Upset maybe. After all, you never went to talk to her after she was in space, but she'll get over it. She knows what's going on, and she can't stay mad at you. Besides, she has her security blanket."

"Her security blanket?"

"Her bandana." A voice from behind answered. Gohan and Goten both quickly sat up to confirm whose familiar ki it was.

"Father!" Gohan shouted, glad to see him. 

"I'm surprised Mother let you come." Goten said. 

"Well," Goku said, putting his hand behind his head and giving his patented Son smile, "I had to promise that I would do some of the chores for a while. Oh, and I promised her that I would take her flying."

"Mom… _wanted_ to go flying?"

"She enjoys it. It's one of her favorite things to do now."

Goten turned to Gohan, "I told you, she's changed since Dad's come back." He whispered. 

"I'm glad you came. We were just resting before we started training again."

Goku laid down next to Gohan. Staring at the clouds was one of _his_ favorite things to do, besides eating. He saw a refrigerator when he landed, but he was disappointed to learn that his sons had already emptied it out. Gohan and Goten laid back down. 

"So why is Pan's bandana her security blanket?" Goten asked.

"Do you remember that orange gi she had when she was about four?"

"Are you kidding? She was wearing that gi when she beat me in the Worlds Martial Arts Tournament. She still gets that picture out to remind me about it." 

Gohan and Goku chuckled. "Well," Gohan continued, "it was made of material from one of Dad's old orange gi's. She wore it _all_ the time. One day, it ripped, so she took it to Videl. Videl usually fixed it when it got ripped, but the thing was worn out, and it barely fit her anymore. When we explained to her that we had to throw it out, she started to cry. She took it to her room with her and refused to give it up. So, Videl promised her that if she would give it up, she would turn it into something else she could wear, so she could carry a piece of her grandfather with her no matter what. Videl was about to turn it into a shirt, but Pan got a hold of a piece before it was cut and put it on her head. She hasn't taken it off since."    

"That's cute." Goten said, which earned him a strange look from his older brother for use of the word "cute", "Well, it is!"

"I didn't realize her bandana was that old." Another voice said behind them.

"Hey Trunks." Goten greeted. 

"Hey." 

"Is Vegeta coming?" Goku asked.

"I'm not sure. He was finishing lunch and yelling at my mom about something when I left… probably the food." Trunks answered, "I'm sure if you're here he'll come though, since you're the only one who gives him a challenge anymore."

"Ubuu should be here later too. It's the first real chance I'm going to have to see how much stronger he's gotten since I've been brought back." Goku stated.

"Well, we'd better get started if we're going to get anything done by sundown." Gohan said, grateful that he and Goten had shared part of a senzu bean after lunch. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

A couple of hours had past. It was almost sundown, but it was still light outside. High in the sky, a capsule plane flew by, carrying six passengers. Bulma was in the pilot's seat, using ki radar to try to find her husband's and son's energy. 

"I can't see them yet, can you?" Videl asked from the seat next to her.

"No, but we the ki radar says they're directly ahead, about another thirty miles. We should be there in no time at all." Bulma replied.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Marron stated from the backseat.

"Don't be ridiculous," Chichi answered. "We're just dropping by to say hi and invite them to dinner. I'm sure they're starving by now anyway."

"Ms. Chichi, is Ubuu fighting with them?" Bra asked.

"I believe so," She answered, "He's been gone all day, and he wasn't supposed go home to his village for another few months. He has a job here, and he's trying to earn some extra money for his family."

"Why do you ask?" Bulma said, with more than just a hint of teasing in her voice.

Bra was quick to answer, "No reason." 

"You know, Chichi and Goku say Ubuu's a very nice young man." Bulma hinted.

"Oh he is." Chichi added, "Always polite and willing to help out. He does the laundry, sweeps, and even cooks some times. He's not that bad at it either, he's just not used to cooking for a Saiyan."

"Hmm…" Bulma said, looking back at her daughter with a cocked eyebrow. "He's polite, a good cook, a perfect gentleman, he's strong, which your father would appreciate, and he's very handsome."

Bra blushed, getting a very clear picture of where this conversation was going. "Yeah… so?"

"So… I think you should snatch him up while he's still single."

"Mother!" Bra yelled, "Do you always have to have a say in who I date?" 

"Yes, I'm your mother, it's my job to stick my nose into your business."

Bra made a slight growling noise in her throat at that comment. "I'm twenty-six years old, I don't need to be followed around and…" 

The argument continued and Marron chuckled. She knew that Bra would do the same thing to her daughter without even a second thought, given the chance. It was genetic. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Five of the men were gathered around, looking up at the sky. They seem to be watching something, because their heads would simultaneously turn. An average person would see nothing, except the occasional flash of light caused by the two warrior's ki, but these men could see. The other two warriors up in the sky moved at remarkable speed. Even Vegeta and Piccolo were having trouble clearly distinguishing which warrior did what move. From a distance it almost looked like a dance. Something choreographed and performed perfectly, but it wasn't. Goku and Ubuu were sparring. Keeping in mind that the earth couldn't take the stress of a full-out fight, they agreed to keep some of their energy suppressed.  However, the intensity of the force being released was still tremendous, causing the earth to tremble at the clash of the two powers. 

"Wow." Was all that Goten could say. 

"They're going on three hours now. I thought they were just going to have a friendly little sparring match." Trunks said looking at his watch.

"Kakarott is going to lose all of his energy if he keeps this up."

"So will Ubuu." Piccolo argued. "It's an even fight, so far. Although, Goku could power up a lot more if he wanted to. The kid is maxed out."

"So what if Kakarott wins or loses?! I could care less about the outcome of this match. I just want him to have enough energy to face me next." 

"I'm glad that everyone's busy watching Father and Ubuu." Goten whispered to Trunks. "That means I don't have to fight anyone."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I just wish we had some food with us."

"Just for that, I think _you_ should face Vegeta next, Goten. Since, you think you're going to get away with slacking off." Gohan interrupted, hearing everything they had said perfectly clear. 

Goten groaned, knowing Vegeta that would take any opportunity he had to permissibly beat the tar out of someone, especially one of "Kakarott's" sons. Trunks chuckled at the pitiful face Goten was making. He was like a kid that was trying to get out of going to school. 

"Shut up Trunks, or I'll sic Gohan on you." 

"Oh really?" Gohan dared, "Then maybe after Vegeta's done with you, _I'll_ take a shot at you."

Goten searched desperately through his brain for something that would make Gohan get off of _his_ back. "So Trunks, you never answered my question."

"And what question was that?"

"Back at Capsule when Pan first left, I asked you if you were interested in her. After all, you seemed to be spending a lot of time with her." 

Trunks looked up at Gohan, wide-eyed and stricken with fear. Gohan was giving him a death glare. "I…n…why would I… I don't… Gohan…"

"Watch out!" Piccolo yelled.   

Goten and Gohan quickly backed up when they saw the flying object that appeared to be Ubuu careening down out of the sky directly towards them. The two brothers got away just in time, but Trunks wasn't so fortunate. Ubuu landed hard, right on top of Trunks. The force of Ubuu's fall caused both men to skid at least a city block or so before stopping, Trunks being the one whose face and body got dragged through the dirt. Ubuu was sitting on his back just holding on. 

Ubuu groaned as he rolled off of Trunks' back after they stopped. Trunks was still face down in the dirt, and he wasn't moving. Goten and Gohan came running up to them, both trying hard to suppress a chuckle. 

"Are you guys okay?" Goku asked as he floated down from the sky.

"I'm fine." Ubuu responded, rubbing the back of his head. "Trunks? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Came his muffled voice, his face still in the dirt. "I'm okay."

"Wow, thanks for taking my fall." 

"Not a problem." Trunks replied in a dampened voice, he remained unmoved. 

Vegeta walked over and picked his son up by the back of his shirt. "Stupid, idiotic…" Vegeta began, "If you would have been paying attention to this fight, you would have been aware of the kick that Kakarott did which sent the kid flying and this wouldn't have happened! How many times do I have to tell you to keep your guard up?!"

He held Trunks up for a moment, expecting a response, "Ouch, Father, that hurts."

Vegeta let out a frustrated grunt and dropped his son back in the dirt. "Ouch." Trunks complained.

"So Kakarott, do you still have any energy left?" Vegeta said walking up to the taller Saiyan.

"Well, yeah, but…" 

Vegeta gave him no time for an answer before delivering a ki blast at Goku. Goku dodged it easily and returned one of his own, but not before jumping into the air so Vegeta couldn't see it coming. Vegeta leaped into the air to join him as they continued their sparring match. Both of them powered up to level 2, having agreed not to go any higher. Their ki blasts were still hitting somewhat close to where the rest of the warriors were, but no one paid it any attention. 

"Here," Goten offered, "have one of my senzu beans."

"No thanks." Trunks said, "I'm okay."

"Sorry about that." He chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I bet you are." He said sarcastically, but smiled. "I'm going to have to pay you back for that one."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"There they are." Videl said, pointing at the small specks on the ground. 

"Yep, that's them." Bulma confirmed. "I'll land over that small hill so we won't distract them."

Bulma landed the plane softly. They were just out of the fighters' sights, and they were too engrossed in the spar to sense them coming. After putting the plane back in its capsule, Bulma and the others started walking towards the group of warriors, but Videl stayed behind. 

"Videl, what's wrong?" Chichi asked. 

"I think we should leave." She said. She was looking up at the sky, apparently watching something.

"Why?"

"Goku and Vegeta are having a pretty good fight up there. They're a little too close for comfort, I don't think we should get any closer." 

Bulma looked up at the sky in the direction that Videl was looking. "I don't see them. Where are they?"

"Me neither." Marron said. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. They're moving so fast I can only see some of their after-image, but that's them."

"I wouldn't worry so much." Chichi commented. "I'm positive they already know we're here. They can sense us, remember?"

"I don't know. Vegeta and Goku's powers may be masking us, or distracting them or something.  I don't think they know that we're close. We should stay back here until they're finished. No, we wouldn't stand a chance if one of them threw a blast at the ground. We should just leave."

"I didn't fly all they way here to turn around and leave." Bulma argued. "Maybe we can just say hi and tell them to meet us somewhere when they're done." 

Bulma turned around and started walking over the hill. The others followed. Videl shook her head and followed, but not before putting Goku Jr. on her back. Just in case they needed to take off in a hurry.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The other warriors watched the sky. Gohan and Piccolo could still see them, but the others were having trouble. All they could see was the occasional ki blast thrown.

"Ah, I lost them." Ubuu complained. "I can't see them at all now."

"Don't feel bad." Said Trunks. "I can't really see them anymore either."

"Whoa, did you see that?" Gohan asked Piccolo.

"Yes, Son was sloppy. Anyone could've seen Vegeta coming up from below like that."

"I couldn't." Trunks whined.

"Hey! Trunks!" A woman's voice yelled. 

Trunks couldn't hear it, but Piccolo could. 

"What are you doing?" He yelled when he saw all the women coming up the hill, waving his arms at them. "Go away!"

That's when all the other warriors finally noticed them. "Holy crap!" Goten yelled. "They're all here!"

Gohan looked back up at the fight. They were getting closer to their position, and both of them were powering up. "Guys, we'd better get the girls out of here before Father and Vegeta start using stronger ki."

"Agreed." Piccolo said as they took off and flew towards the women. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"What's the matter Kakarott? Feeling a little beat down?" Vegeta maliciously remarked, after Goku had swung at him and missed.

"That was a cheap shot Vegeta, kicking me when I hadn't sensed you yet."

"Really?" He asked. "Would you consider it unfair if I was your enemy and you were fighting for your life?"

Goku said nothing, but smirked. It was very uncharacteristically evil of him. Suddenly, he fazed out of site. Vegeta turned his head quickly trying to find him. He couldn't sense him at all, so he hoped he could find him with his eyes. _'What did he do, teleport?'_  He asked himself.  "Come out and fight like a Saiyan, Kakarott!" He yelled, "Why did you run away?! Was it because you thought I was going to win?!" 

"What makes you think I ran away?" Goku said, surprisingly close. He was right on Vegeta's head, staring down at him. Quickly he brought his arms forward and faced the palm of his hands out yelling, "Kamehameha!" 

It was the exact moment that he finished yelling when he looked down at the ground. There were too many people there. Vegeta managed to dodge the attack, barely, but he had no idea of what was below. 

"Ah! Vegeta! There are other people down there! Block the blast!" Goku yelled as he zoomed down to try to counter his own attack. 

On the ground, the other warriors had already succeeded in picking up their perspective wives, or whoever they could grab, and flew off when they sensed the blast coming. Hopefully, they could get away before it hit the ground and detonated. Goku and Vegeta got directly under the blast and aimed upward. "Kamehameha!" Yelled Goku. Vegeta followed suite, "Big bang!" 

The two stronger blasts sent the weaker blast hurling upward.  Satisfied that it was gone, Vegeta and Goku let out a large breath of relief. Vegeta rubbed his hands from the slight pain that the energy attack had caused. Goku scratched the back of his head, a sure sign that he was thinking about something. He was hoping that the blast hadn't hit anything important on its way out of the atmosphere. 

Assuming it was safe, the other warriors landed. "What were you thinking?!" Vegeta yelled from the sky. "Coming here when you knew we would be training! I would think you all, with the exception of Kakarott, would be intelligent enough to pick smarter mates!"

He was quite satisfied with his insult. Maybe now those stupid women would learn their lessons. He would never catch _his_ mate foolishly going around and…

"Um, Father?" Trunks said from behind, interrupting Vegeta's narcissistic thoughts. 

"What?" Vegeta snapped. He heard Trunks clear his throat. No, wait, it was too feminine to be Trunks, but it seemed familiar. He cringed, recognizing who was with Trunks. Slowly he turned around. His face surprised Trunks, for it was an expression of **utter terror**.    

"So, you think I'm stupid?" Bulma growled. If she were a Saiyan, she could have gone Super at that very moment. 

"I never said that _you_ were stupid." He tried to cover. 

Trunks turned his head, striving  to pretend that he wasn't with his parents at that moment. After one of Bulma's high squeaky noises, he had enough, and placed her in his father's arms. As Trunks turned to fly away, Vegeta's face shocked him once again. His eyes were pleading with the boy, begging him not to run away and leave him with her. Trunks chuckled, although he would probably pay for it the next time he was alone with his father.  

He landed next to Ubuu, who was carrying his sister. She still had her eyes shut tight, trembling slightly.

"Sis?" Trunks asked, attempting to make her open her eyes. "Bra? You're okay now. You can open your eyes."

She still had her eyes closed, apparently not hearing what Trunks had said. "Ms. Bra?" Ubuu checked. 

Bra opened her eyes. No one she knew called her "Ms. Bra" but Goku Jr. and that was definitely _not_ the voice of a little boy. That was a voice of a man, a man that smelled very good, she noticed as she regained her senses. Slowly she opened her eyes. He was in the arms of a dark-skinned guy with black hair. _'Ubuu!'_ her mind screamed. 

"Hello," she said, looking brightly up at him. "Ubuu."

Ubuu blushed heavier than she had ever seen any guy blush before.

"Thank you for catching me."

He set her down quickly afraid he might drop her and get _really_ embarrassed. "No thanks are required Ms. Bra. I was only doing what I had to."

"Just call me Bra." She said putting her hand in his and smiling sweetly at him. 

"Oh, _please._" Trunks bluntly interrupted, shaking his head as he walked away.

Bra gave her brother a quick death glare, before immediately returning to gaze at Ubuu. If it were possible, Ubuu's blush would have gotten deeper, but his entire head was already bright red. 

Piccolo watched all the commotion, seemingly unaware of the woman he carried under his arm like a sack of potatoes. He had simply reacted when he saw the defenseless form on the ground, the blast heading towards them. He had just picked her up, whoever "her" was. The figure began to squirm, finally gaining Piccolo's notice.

"Let me down you over-grown ugly demon monster!" She shrieked.

Fear was the first thing that hit him. Piccolo had picked up Son's mate. "I said put me down!" Her high voice was causing Piccolo's head to swim, an intense pain was quickly forming in the front of his head. 

Quickly he flew over to Goku. "I think this is yours." He said, dumping Chichi into Goku's arms.  He made a hasty retreat, hoping to avoid any unnecessary ear and brain damage. 

"Hi Chichi." Goku said, giving Chichi one of his sweet, innocent grins. 

She sighed lightly. She enjoyed being in Goku's arms and it wasn't really his fault they almost got killed. Maybe she would go easy on him. "Hi Goku." She said calmly, much to her husband's delight. "We brought you guys a huge dinner. Maybe we can…"

"You did?! Where?" Goku excitedly yelled, dropping her hard on the ground. 

She growled as she stood up and brushed herself off. She turned and walked away, her arms crossed and her temper returning.  

"Chichi wait. Can't we eat dinner and then talk?" Goku said, running after her. 

"No dinner for you Mr.!" She yelled.

"But Chichi I…"

Gohan was watching the scene and laughed. "Some things never change." He said almost to himself. 

"Gohan, I'm sorry. I tried to tell them not to land, but…" Videl explained. 

"It's okay Videl. Everyone's safe and sound."

"That's it Vegeta, you are sleeping in the gravity room for the rest of this week!" Bulma yelled in the distance.

"Well, Father and Vegeta might want to sleep with one eye opened tonight." Gohan added. 

"I endangered our son's life and my own and interrupted an important training session when I knew better, and you're saying it's okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

Videl hugged him, relieved that he wasn't mad. She sighed then pulled away. Gohan noticed a devilish smirk and a fiendish look in her eye. He almost had to do a double take, something wasn't right here. Videl took her fingertip and traced the hard muscles across his bare chest. She laughed, almost a demented laugh. Her touches were light, and teasing…and she knew it drove him insane when she did that. 

"Videl, what are you…?" He started, before he realized what she was up to. 

"You're not wearing a shirt." She observed, almost at a whisper. "I couldn't let that go."

He cleared his throat, a blush creeping up on him. "Videl, we don't have time to get too friendly, and I told you, I don't think I'm going to be home tonight."

"Well, maybe you could stop in for just a little while." 

"Maybe." He said, leaning his head down and giving her a deep kiss. 

Goku Jr. watched from the side, unnoticed by his parents. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for them to stop acting so disgusting so he could wrestle with his dad. But they never stopped. Goku stuck out his tongue as if he was nauseated and ran towards Trunks. Before the older demi-Saiyan could notice, Goku was latched onto his back. 

"Hi Goku." Trunks greeted. "What are you doing up there?"

"Mom and Dad are acting gross. So I thought I'd come see what you're doing." Jr. stated.

Trunks looked around at all the couples that were either arguing, or loving on each other. "Well, unfortunately, I'm not doing anything. What do you say we take a walk?"

"Cool!" Goku shouted. "Trunks?"

"Yeah?" 

"Do you think Grandpa would throw another ki thingy so we could play that game again?"

Trunks laughed. 

Goten sat on the ground and watched Gohan and Videl from a distance, hearing every word that they said, and silently wondering if his mother had seen them. She still considered him and Trunks kids. He cringed at the thought of what she might do to them if she knew that Goku Jr. had been watching them. His head cocked, much in the way that it had when he was a kid and he was thinking about something. A foreign finger reached out and touched his chin, gently forcing him to turn his head. When he did, he saw his wife, sitting on the grass with him. Her eyes were narrowed. Goten knew she always liked to try and read his feelings through his eyes, as if she could see straight into his brain and what he was thinking about. He loved it. 

"What wrong?" She asked him. "Are you mad?"

"Mad? No, just a little worried." He answered softly.

"Worried? Still? About what?"

"You."

"Me? I got away from the blast fine, thanks to you. I'm safe now."

"I know, but it's not the blast that I'm afraid hurt you." He looked down at the ground, still feeling ashamed about his behavior the night before.

"Goten?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you still dwelling on what happened last night?"

He returned his gaze to her. His eyes were sad, almost pained. Without saying anything, he hugged her. He laid his head on her chest, simply to hear her heart beat. Just to make sure she was still alive, and cherishing the moment.  

"I could have killed you."

"Yes you could have, but you didn't." Gently, she held his head in her arms, stroking his hair like he was a child. 

"I'm just afraid that I'm going to wake up, this being only a dream, and that you really did die." 

"I didn't, and this isn't a dream. Could you have felt that blast if this was a dream?"

He laughed gently, resting his head in her lap. He looked up at her. She smiled and bent her head down low enough to give him a small kiss. Even though it was at an awkward angle, and upside-down, he still treasured it. 

"Goten, since we're friends again…"

"Yeah?" He asked sitting up. He wasn't sure he liked the way this question started. 

"…Can we… quit the baby-making, at least for a while?"

He chuckled, relieved. "Yeah, we'll start trying again only when _you're_ ready."

"Thank you." She playfully poked him in the chest.

He watched her for a while. She was glad; his face had gone from a pained look, to a look of contentment. He pulled her close and gave her another kiss. This one was harder and more passionate then the last one. She fell softly backwards, giggling, lips still connected to her husband's. He laughed and pulled away, but continued to rest on top of her, finger tenderly stroking her cheek. Bulma and Vegeta walked right past them, almost stepping on them. They didn't seem to notice, though, they were still too consumed in their argument. They were still yelling loudly too. It kind of ruined the mood for the couple on the ground, but how big of a mood could there be? Their entire family, save Marron's parents and Pan, was surrounding them. Goten had seemed to have forgotten, until then. He blushed, pulling away and sitting up, as he helped his wife up too. She laughed at Goten's embarrassment; the only one _she_ was afraid of was Chichi.     

"So, why _did_ you come here?" Goten asked.

"Well, we all thought that we would surprise you with a big dinner… since… you're not going to be back for a while. Besides, I wanted to talk to you. You didn't seem like you believed me last night when I told you I was fine."

"Well you surprised us alright. Next time, do us a favor, and call before hand? But, I'm glad you came. You're right, I wasn't sure if you were being honest with me. I know you, you wouldn't have told me your were hurt unless it was really bad. You enjoy being stubborn and hiding your pain, don't you?"

"Well, I have to keep up with all of you tough Saiyans." She play punched him in the arm. 

He chuckled lightly, but became serious quickly. "I'm sorry." He said.

"I know you are," She softly eased, "but honey? After this is over, you owe me new tea kettle."

He laughed loudly at that comment. "Alright, I'll buy you a new kettle. Since you're going to be so picky about everything." He joked. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

After the commotion had settled down, every one sat together and ate a giant picnic. Vegeta sat across the blanket from Bulma. She had informed him that he would not be going anywhere near her, and that he would be sleeping in the gravity room for a week. Vegeta, being so severely ***cough* **whippedfrom the beginning of their relationship, complied. However, he never stopped complaining to "Kakarott" how idiotic the woman was, and how he couldn't believe she would throw the Prince of all Saiyans, out of his own bedroom. Goku just nodded politely as he was used to hearing Vegeta complain, he said the same things _every time_ Bulma threw him out. He was paying more attention to the lump on his head, which Chichi, using a frying pan that seemingly came from nowhere, had given him after he dropped he, than to Vegeta, who was now vowing to never defend the "woman" again, among other things…

Gohan and Videl were sitting next to each other. Gohan still had his shirt off, and he had some lipstick marks on his cheek and neck, compliments his wife, that no one had seemed to bother pointing out to him. Bra sat next to Ubuu. Bra was smiling sweetly at him as she delicately ate her Saiyan's portion. Ubuu was so nervous, he couldn't seem to take a bite in front of her without feeling like a dork, and he seemed to be stuck in a continuous blush, which Bulma was getting a kick out of. 

_'My little girl has sure caught herself a good one.'_ Bulma thought to herself. 

Goten and Marron sat slightly off to the side. Goten had scarfed down his food in a hurry and was now resting his head in her lap again. Trunks sat on the far side watching all the different couples enjoy their meal. He was lonely, and silently wondered what Pan was up to. Goku Jr. was next to him, gulping down his food at a rate faster than even his Grandfather. His mother was too occupied to correct him and his Grandmother was watching something else. She was mad at her son's _obvious_ recent affections with their wives, but she was also sort of jealous. Her sons had grown up to be the romantics that their father had not. Oh well, he tried at least, but whenever he did, something always ended up getting burnt. She smiled at Goku, who was looking clueless as Vegeta rambled on about his marital complaints, she was happy with him the way he was, as long as he didn't drop her again. 

Piccolo sat next to Goku Jr. The kid wouldn't have it any other way. Something about him reminded Piccolo too much of Gohan when he was that age, so he sat with them. He would rather be off by himself, meditating until they were ready to start training again, but he was there, sipping his water, sitting next to Gohan's boy, who looked exactly like him. At least Son's mate had brought him the good kind of water this time, instead of that cheap, imitation, off-brand.  

After they were done, they all said goodbye to their wives/mothers/sisters/perspective girlfriends or members of the female species that they happen to know. It was dark, but they decided to keep training. Trunks went home because he had work in the morning, but Vegeta stayed behind. He would rather sleep under the stars then in the gravity room, even if it meant putting up with "Kakarott's" snoring. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan nervously got out of her capsule car in front of one of the most expensive dress shops of that time. Quickly, she re-figured in her head how much money it would take to get her through the next month.

_'One thousand zeni better be enough.'_ She told herself. "Well, at least this guy is worth it, even though he won't remember a thing when I get home. Hey, that means I can wear the dress twice, and no one will have seen it before." She joked to herself, trying to lighten her own attitude. 

She coyly made her way in the dress shop. Everything there looked absolutely gorgeous. It was just a matter of finding something that fit in her budget range, which would be difficult. First, she would start looking at things she liked. Slowly she made her way through the shop. Exploring back to front would make for an easy escape if she got overwhelmed. 

There were three well-dressed women at the checkout counter that were looking at her funny. She thought it was amusing how every time she looked in their direction they would scatter, as if they were attempting to hide the fact that they were watching her. She heard one of the ladies whisper something, and then the others laughed. Quickly, she turned and gave them a dirty look, hoping they would get the point and stop. She was about to walk over there and give them a piece of her mind, but she was sidetracked. There was a beautiful black gown in the corner that caught her eye. It had embroidered blue flowers going up and down the front and back, and knee-high slits that went up both sides. 

Quickly, she made her way over to it. She took the material in her fingers and felt it. It was so soft. She didn't even need to look at the rest of the dresses, this was the one for her, if she could just…

"Two thousand zeni!" She yelled, too loudly after discovering the price tag.

Immediately she covered her mouth. That was the wrong thing to say in that kind of place. She cringed, and just as she turned to walk out the door, she was surrounded. 

"Is there…something I can help you with?" One of the women from the counter asked, obviously not planning to help her with anything but finding her way out the door.  

All of the women simultaneously scanned her from head to toe. It was then when Pan discovered her mistake. Today was laundry day, and the only thing she had to wear that wasn't dirty was an old pair of sweats and a gray tank top. _'They must think I came in from off the streets.'_ She cursed herself. 

"I'm here for a dress." She replied, trying to show as much dignity as possible. 

"And what kind of occasion do you need this dress for?" The woman said, still scrutinizing everything that Pan was wearing.

"I'm going to a party," Pan said, holding her head up. "At Capsule Corporation." She quickly added. 

"Capsule Corporation? Will this be your first major event that you have bussed tables at?" She said with a malicious smirk. The other ladies in back of her slightly allowed themselves to smile. Pan was afraid that their face-lifts were going to snap. 

"For _your_ information, I have money!" She said, trying to keep from going Super Saiyan. 

The woman lifted her eyebrow, Pan was sure she heard skin break.

"I just don't have enough for this particular dress." She admitted, looking back at the perfect dress somberly.

"Well, tell me young lady, how much _do_ you have. We'll work from there."

Pan tried her best to keep up her mask of pride, but the answer to the question would be her downfall, she knew it. "I have t…" She trailed off.

"Excuse me? I didn't hear you."

"I said I have two hundred zeni." 

The three women began to laugh hard. Pan thought for sure that they were going to end up rolling on the floor. "Young lady," The woman began again, but stopped to laugh once more. "The-there's a store down a couple blocks from here called 'Dress-R-Us'. I'm sure they'll be able to help you there."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"And you're sure it's one of our cars?" Bulma asked over her cell phone.

"I'm positive, Mother. I saw her get into it the other day, but I've never seen that model before, it's too new." The other voice replied.

"Well, it's right here. It's in front of one of my favorite dress shops. I guess I'll go in and look for her. What does she look like?"

"Well," Trunks began, "She has black hair, blue eyes, she's about as tall as you are, she's a fighter, so she's pretty well toned. In fact, she's got a beautiful body. She's got long legs, a flat stomach, and a…"

"Trunks," Bulma interrupted, "Remember, you're talking to your mother, not one of your guy friends."

Trunks cleared his throat, obviously kind of embarrassed. "Just look for someone who kind of looks like Videl, but skinnier, and with longer hair." 

"Okay, I will."

"Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome." She hung up her cell phone and walked inside. She was about to ask the ladies she knew at the front desk if they had seen this girl, but they were all in the back, hovering over something.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"You know," one of the other women started, "I'm sure there's a thrift shop somewhere around here." 

The other women once again joined in laughter. However, the doorbell ring letting them know someone walked through the door, and they all stopped to see whom it was. 

"Ah!" One of the ladies gasped. "Blue hair!"

"Do you think?"

"Well, it is that time of year…"

They all scurried past Pan to greet the other customer. "Hello Ms. Briefs!" One of them yelled, in a fake, annoying, "happy to see you" voice.

Pan figured that this was the time to leave, so she quickly ducked down and started nearly running down the other aisle. Bulma saw the fleeing figure and quickly "accidentally" stepped in its way. Pan bumped into her at full speed, causing Bulma to be knocked over. 

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" Pan apologized as she helped her up. 

"I think you'd better leave. You're disrupting our _real_ customers." The shop runner said. 

"No she's not, it was an accident. _I'm_ the one who got in _her_ way." Bulma argued.

"Um… I'm sorry, but I really have to go now." Pan hurried to get out the door. 

"Nonsense!" Bulma said quickly, trying to keep her there. "My name is Bulma Briefs."

"Hello, Ms. Briefs. I'm P-Kara. Kara Oakie." She shook her hand. 

"Call me Bulma, nice to meet you. Listen, I'm shopping for a friend who is about your size." She said examining her. "What size are you?"

"Umm… I don't know. I guess a three or four." Pan answered.

"Good, you're pretty close. Let me use you as a model to find this dress for her and we'll call it even."

"I… Ms. Bulma…" Pan started to argue. "All right."

"Great! So, Zelda, show me some nice dresses that a young girl like Kara would enjoy." She turned to the sales lady.

"Right over here Ms. Bulma, there's this incredible dress we just got in. Oh, and it's on sale!" Zelda squealed.

The sales lady was showing her the black dress. _'Oh well,'_ Pan thought sadly. _'At least I get to try it on.'_

"Kara, would you be a doll, and try this one on for me?" Bulma yelled.

Pan walked into the changing room and put on the dress. There wasn't a mirror in the room, so she couldn't see what it looked like. She walked out of the fitting room, and heard four gasps. Even the sales ladies were admitting how good she looked in that dress. Pan got up in front of the full-length mirrors and looked at herself. The dress was perfect! Pan didn't really like wearing anything but sweats, but this was the exception. 

"Kara, I don't think my friend should have this dress, I think you should."

"I don't…" Pan started.

"Well, she can't afford it." The sales lady answered for her. "So, how about we package that up for you Ms. Briefs?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'll come back later." Bulma answered. "Kara, I have a dress at home that looks almost exactly like that. Why don't you come with me and you can try it on? It's an old dress; I'm never going to wear it again. I won't charge you."

Pan was about to argue again, but knowing Bulma, she wouldn't stand a chance. "Okay." 

She quickly changed back and got out of the fitting room. "Go ahead and go outside. I have another order to pay for in here."

Pan didn't think anything of it, so she just walked out the door, grateful to get away from those women.

Once she was gone, Bulma ordered, "I'll take the exact one she just tried on, and wrap it up."

The storekeeper gave her a strange look, but complied. After all, you don't want to question the richest woman in the world. After buying the dress, Bulma and Pan headed towards Capsule Corporation in Bulma's car. They got there quickly, but they had plenty of time to talk. 

"So you're _the_ Kara Oakie, my son's girlfriend?" Bulma asked as they pulled up. "Well, it's a good thing we're going to find you a dress then."

"Yeah," Pan said, knowing full well that something was up. "It's a good thing." 

Just then, Trunks rushed out the door. "Kara! What are you doing here?"

_'Why don't you tell me?'_ She asked inside her head. "I met your mother when I was going dress shopping. Strange coincidence, huh?"

Bulma cleared her throat. "Well, I'll go upstairs and find that dress." 

Trunks mouthed the words _"Thank you."_ To Bulma while Pan's head was turned. 

Trunks waited till she was in the house to say anything. "So, how are you?" 

"Oh," Pan faked, "Okay, but I owe your mother two thousand zeni."

Trunks chuckled nervously, "What do you mean?"

"She didn't have to buy me that dress."

"I didn't ask her to do that. I just asked her to track you down, so I'd have an excuse to see you again. But, let her spend her money. She had fun, and you're worth it. If it makes you feel better, return it after the ball. They'll take anything back from my mother at that store."

Pan smiled, and Trunks' heart melted. "Well, I did really love that dress." She said. "And I think you will too once you see it."

"Oh, I know I will, if you're wearing it."

Pan blushed at the compliment. "Thank you."

Trunks felt himself turn to mush. He lowered his head and tasted her. It was just as good as he remembered it being. He pulled her closer, and even lifted her off the ground slightly. He was definitely going to have to thank his mother for this. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

In the house, Vegeta looked on. Spying on his son was not one of his favorite activities, especially when he was with one of his girlfriends, but this girl…

"Vegeta?" Bulma interrupted his thoughts. "What are you doing?"

"Who is that girl?" He asked sternly.

"Another girlfriend. He seems really taken by this one though, I think it might be serious." She rested her arms on his shoulder and pecked him on the cheek. He growled at the sign of affection, but then again, he always growled when the woman "pecked" him, so it didn't faze Bulma.

"She has an energy rating. At least, high enough to notice, and she's not doing anything strenuous right now." He acted concerned.

"Well, she's a fighter. She's probably strong."

"Still, something about her ki is very familiar…"

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

She felt him caress her lips. She was enjoying it a lot more this time. She didn't feel as guilty. Her feet came off the ground a little bit. He was so close. She wanted to stay like that for a while, but she knew they had to breathe some time, but it was so nice, to have someone she cared about for so long treat her like this. She pushed the thoughts of leaving far back in her brain. No, she was going to enjoy this for as long as she could. She even left the spray at the ship. She had no intention of using it any time soon. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	9. Chapter 10

**Title:** Waiting

**Author:** **The Noseless Wonder** = Þ, with the usual advice from **Trinity Blue** (thanks again)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dragonball Z/GT, why would I want to? It's a worthless cartoon. No plot development, horrible characters, it's completely atrocious. That's why I sit around all day (when I don't have writer's block, anyway,) and write about it. = Þ J 

**Author's notes:** = Þ again. I just wanted to say that I like to write in English. Considering that's the only language I know, no wonder. That's why I write "Saiyan" instead of "Saiyajin", "Vegeta" instead of "Bejita" or even "idiot" instead of "baka". Back six months to a year ago, when I read about two characters saying "ashitaru" to each other, they might as well have been saying "you look like a dancing elf" because I didn't know any Japanese. I don't think a lot of people do, especially newbies. (Unless they were born in Japan, or just _happen_ to speak fluent Japanese). I also think it interrupts the smoothness of a story. That's just a little explanation of why I don't include Japanese sayings in my story. Don't get me wrong, some of the best stories out there include a ton of Japanese, but this is how _I_ like to write.                             P.S.- = Þ I just feel like going =Þ a lot. J    

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

_"Panny, I'm sorry, but I don't have time to play now." He said._

_            "Play? What…?" _

_             "Look Panny, I'm sorry, but I have to run. I've got a date tonight and I'm running late."_

_ "Trunks, I love you."_

_ "Panny, some day you're going to find a nice boy who is your age and cares about you very much. Then, you'll completely forget about me." He smiled and messed her hair with his hand. _

_"What are you doing?! I'm not a child!"_

_"You're a pretty little lady. Don't be in such a rush to grow up. Enjoy it while you can."_

_            "What?!"_

_            "You're a pretty little lady, don't grow up…don't grow up." His voice echoed. _

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

She sat up quickly, breathing hard. Sweat beaded on her skin and slowly rolled down her face, dripping on her shirt below. Tears filled her eyes and made their way down, mingling with her sweat. She tried to regain composure, reminding herself that it was only a dream… no, a nightmare. For some reason, the tears didn't stop they only came faster. Her soft weeping quickly changed to sobbing. She held a pillow in her lap and buried her face to muffle her cries. 

"It was just a dream!" She told herself. "It wasn't real. The real Trunks would never act so… mean!"

After calming down a bit, she got up. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep any time soon. She went to the kitchen and made a cup of cocoa. After pouring the hot chocolate into a cup, she wrapped a blanket around herself and made her way outside. Although the night air was warm, it carried with it a cool breeze. It was enough to give Pan a chill. She enjoyed it though, it reminded her that she was alive, and helped her distinguish what was reality and what was not.

Her father always used to make her a cup of cocoa whenever she had a bad dream. In fact, she remembered her mother getting up and making it on restless nights too. Whenever there was tension in her family, the innocent looking cocoa would bring everyone together at the table. It was a conversation starter, a common delight that everyone enjoyed. Her and her parents could talk out any kind of problem over a pot of cocoa. Everyone she was close to loved it, but no one loved it as much as Trunks, and even Vegeta from what Bulma had said.  

She smiled fondly as she slowly circled the rim of her mug with her finger. "Why did my mind have to travel down that road again?" She asked herself. 

His charming smile haunted her once more. The memory of those tender kisses they shared swam around her brain. She let her imagination roam. She could picture the way he looked at her. The look in his eyes when he was about to kiss her made her feel like royalty, something that he treasured, that could never be replaced. 

"Get real, Pan." She said aloud, chuckling lightly over her own fantasy. 

Something in her own sentence reminded her of that stupid dream. That same figment of the imagination that plagued her almost every night for three straight weeks, ever since she first met up with him. It might have only been part of her subconscious, but it spoke a truth. It was a truth that had been obvious to Pan since the beginning, but she never really acknowledged it. 

Trunks was falling for Kara Oakie, not Pan Son. He liked Kara, a twenty-five year-old single woman who was nothing like the real Pan. Sure, she tried to be herself when she was with him, but it was hard. She had to lie about too much, and she was always being cautious about what she said, and how much she ate. She realized that Trunks probably knew that she was hiding something, but she doubted he knew how much. She was hiding her entire life. 

Back in the future, he was like an older brother to her, even though she never saw him as one. They would have eating contests, and spar until the sunset. She could talk to him for hours about everything and anything that crossed her mind. They had so much in common. They were both part Saiyan, they had appetites that never seemed to be satisfied, they both loved to fight, yet it saddened them that it was in their blood, and they had no other choice. 

They had their differences though, but it only seemed to add a quality to their relationship. Pan had a youthful energy about her. She could never seem to sit still for more than a half an hour without going stir crazy. Trunks couldn't help but be affected by her rambunctiousness. It seemed to be contagious; it renewed an energy that he had given up when he became an adult. Trunks, on the other hand, was a lot calmer than he used to be, even since the days of Bebi. It brought Pan out of the clouds and down to earth. Maybe that's why she wasn't nearly the brat she had been when she was younger, the need to impress and appear older in front of Trunks helped her mature.    

That wasn't the way it was here in the past, however. Pan was playing a façade of a different woman. This woman was normal, well, almost. She was a human. She was also three years older than Trunks, not fourteen years younger. She ate the normal amount of food for a human, and she fought like one too. Kara acted differently, dressed differently, and had a completely different past.

Pan laid down on the grass and looked up at the stars. Would Trunks still love her if he knew that Kara was actually Pan? How would he react if he found out? Sure, he would be hurt, and would probably feel betrayed because he was lied to, but would Trunks Briefs be able to put that all behind him to be with her? 

"Too many possibilities and variables." She grumbled lazily while yawning. 

Then there was her age. Perhaps, that's why he never wanted to try a romantic relationship with her in the first place. Maybe he would feel like a dirty old man if they were to hook up, or maybe he was afraid of the scrutiny he would earn from the public. He was a very famous man, now that his little family-owned business had gone global, and he was now considered the richest man on earth. A lot of aging CEO's walked around with young women on their arms, it was possible that he just didn't want to look like them. Or maybe, just maybe, he didn't want her at all.

"If that's the case," she told herself, "then I should just give up, and be grateful that he likes me as a little sister. I know I'm being selfish, but I'm enjoying myself too much. I'll spray him before I leave. He won't remember this little romantic interlude at all. Then he can go back to… seeing other women, leaving me to wonder what could have been. I _could_ gather up my courage and tell him about this some day, but that would put everything at risk, and he would probably only resent me."

She sighed in frustration. There was no way that any of this would turn out to be for the better. She was playing a game that she couldn't win; it wasn't fair! But she wanted him so much! She always had! She was certain that there was no other woman that loved him as much as she loved him. But was it really love, or just some little girl's crush just like her dream told her? Tears fell from her eyes once more landing softly on the grass below. She was grateful no one was around to see her act so childish over a man. 

She continued to cry as she fought the loosing argument with herself. She knew what had to be done, and she knew that it had to be done quickly, but she didn't want to do it. Her silent, inner war continued within her mind as she drifted off once more. She was still laying on the grass, wrapped up in her blanket. Just as she had expected, the dream came back to haunt her again. It was relentless at convincing her that Pan Son was only a child in her love's eyes, and she would never be anything more. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan walked back inside the ship. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned. The previous night's sleep wasn't very nice. She took off Trunks' dress shirt, which she had been using as a nightgown, and threw it into the washing machine along with her blanket. They were both soaked with morning dew from the grass she had been sleeping on. After laying out some dry clothes on her bed, she grabbed a towel, and jumped in the shower. 

"Why did I have to fall asleep outside?" She asked herself, groaning at the way her muscles felt after sleeping wrong, and the fact that there were blades of grass in her hair. 

She yawned slowly again as she allowed the water beating down to massage her stiff neck. The heat of the water was washing the chill out of her, creating goose bumps across her skin. After such a relaxing shower, she felt as if she could easily drift off to sleep again, but she couldn't. Today was going to be a busy day. She walked out of the bathroom naked, using her towel to wring out her hair. 

"Ah!" She screamed after seeing the large form of a man in the corner of her bedroom, while quickly covering herself with her towel. "Mr. Piccolo, I thought I told you to knock!" 

Piccolo grunted in response, seemingly unaffected by Pan's lack of attire. "I did. No one answered."

"Pervert!" She yelled, even though she knew it was untrue. 

Piccolo simply stood there with his arms crossed. What was the big deal? Son and Gohan would bathe in front of each other all the time without any concern for nudity, even when Piccolo was training with them. It must be one of those "minor differences" Gohan warned him about when it came to a human female's attitude. _'But he said that only happened once a month.'_  Piccolo argued with himself while continuing to stand in front of an embarrassed Pan. 

"Well?" Pan said, expecting him to get the point and leave, but he just stood there. "Do you mind waiting outside so I can get dressed?"    

Piccolo growled and walked outside. All the while acting like Pan was the one inconveniencing him. Pan growled back and slammed the door behind him. She went over and quickly dressed, then grabbed her bag and her capsule car, and headed out the door. 

"What did you want, Mr. Piccolo?"

"I wanted to know if you would_ like_ to go into the room of spirit and time and train with your new power." He spat, using a false politeness that could rival that of a politician, and yet filling the question completely with sarcasm. 

"I didn't know you could be cynical, Mr. Piccolo." Pan said, still more than slightly peeved at the jolly green giant. "It's bad enough having to be alone for three months. Why would I want to be alone for a full year?"

"I think you should. You need to get used to making your new transformation. That way, it will be easier for you. It's such a strong transformation, I wouldn't advise using it down here. Someone would surely sense you, and your cover would be blown. Besides, the earth may not be able to handle such strength if you ever fought full out using your new power. When your grandfather turned level three, the entire planet shook."

"How powerful do you think this new transformation is? Do you think I might be able to surpass it someday?" Pan asked, amazed that Piccolo might see so much potential in her.

"I don't know it's impossible to tell until you've mastered the transformation, and fight all out. As far as surpassing the power you already have, you're Gohan's daughter and Son's granddaughter, so anything's possible, but I doubt it."

"Thanks Mr. Piccolo, but I think I'll wait to train until I get home." 

"Where are you going?" He asked, noticing her clothes. She looked like she was planning on going somewhere. 

"Oh, um… I was… just going to… go into town, so I could… get some more supplies." She lied. 

"So when are you going to be back?" He interrogated. 

"Later."

"When? It should only take you a few hours to buy what you need and be back."

"I've got to run all over for the things I need. I doubt if I'll be back any time before… well, later tonight."

Piccolo narrowed his eyes at her and she became nervous. Any idiot could tell that she had been lying through her teeth at him. She expected a lecture, but he didn't give her one. 

"Fine then." He said, and he took off without another word. 

Pan sighed and watched him disappear. "Piccolo, if only he knew how much I really love Trunks… then maybe he'd understand."

She tried justifying the situation, telling herself that Trunks would only get suspicious if she didn't show up, and he might go looking for her, but she couldn't. Once again, she had lied to get her own way, and her relationship with Trunks was getting deeper and deeper. 

"Stupid conscience." She said as she took off into the air. She would fly until she got closer to town. 

She had a feeling that she was going to have to pay for her unscrupulousness, but this love was worth it.  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

 She pulled up to the big white dome once again, without a worry in her mind. She re-encapsulated her car and headed inside. 

"Kara!" Trunks yelled as he ran over to her. 

He greeted her with a small kiss on her lips, which she eagerly accepted. _'I will not feel guilty. I will not feel guilty.'_  She repeated in her mind, reminding herself that he wouldn't remember anything anyway. 

"Hi." She answered.

"Listen, I've got to go get my tux from the cleaners and run some other errands."

"Oh, okay. Do you… want me to come back later?"

"No, you can stay here." He offered. "My mom wants to take you to lunch. Then she said you could start getting ready. Mom figured it would take a few hours, what with the cosmetologists she has coming in and everything."

"Cosmetologists?" Pan's eyes grew wide. "A few hours?"

"Don't ask me, you're the woman." He laughed, "Anyway, then we'll all go to dinner, and then the party."

"Sounds good to me."

"Cool, then I'll see you in a few hours." He leaned down, giving her another small kiss. "Bye, sweet."

"Bye." She waved, as he jumped into the sky. _'Sweet?' _She thought to herself. _'A few hours? Just to get ready?  How long can it take to put on a stupid dress?' _

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"It's a newer design. From what I've heard, its simplicity is in style this year. I'm sure your lady friend will appreciate its beauty… _and_ its value." The man behind the showcase said. 

Trunks examined the necklace in his hand. It had a long, fragile, gold chain with a large diamond secured in a gold, heart-shaped charm. "It's perfect, I'll take it."

"Excellent choice, Mr. Briefs." 

The jeweler went into his office with the necklace to charge it up. Trunks walked around the store casually, admiring all of the dazzling jewels that sparkled brightly inside their glass cases. In the middle of the room, there was another small glass case. Inside was a pyramid of rings. On the bottom were the smaller, less expensive rings. Trunks looked at the others, but there was one on top with a large stone that he couldn't take his eyes off of. It appeared to be the most expensive one in the case, and it was obvious why. Its brilliance out shined all of the others. His mouth went dry and his palms began to sweat, as an idea boiled up inside his mind. 

_'No, not yet.'_ He told himself. _'You're getting ahead of yourself, big time. But maybe it's time to take this to the next level. There are a lot of things she doesn't know about me…'_

"It's the best one we have." The jeweler interrupted his thoughts.  "That would be _the_ choice of any ring in town. If you want, I could credit an exchange of the necklace for it and have it wrapped up for…"

"No…" Trunks cut in,  "But I might be back later."  

The jeweler nodded in understanding of what Trunks had said. Trunks took the necklace and walked out the door, confident in his decision.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan drummed her fingers on the table as she listened to Bulma talk. Well, she was _trying_ to listen. Her stomach was successfully drawing most of her attention. She had ordered a rice bowl, _one_ rice bowl, and her stomach was making it evident that it needed more. Bulma had already asked her twice if she was feeling all right. Pan simply replied that she was nervous about the party, while shoving away the temptation to request another twenty orders. Pan thanked Dende that she had brought an encapsulated lunch, and that she had made it a Saiyan sized meal too. She promised her stomach she would eat it as soon as she got a moment alone. 

After lunch, the two women went shopping. Bulma had insisted that they find some shoes that would go perfectly with their dresses. Five shoe stores and two hundred pairs later, Bulma finally found the pair she wanted. Pan found some good ones too, while she was waiting for Bulma to just pick a pair and buy them.

Pan had been deceitful with her, just like she had been with everyone else. She tried her best to give Bulma the same story she had given Trunks. She tried to sound impressive too. The Briefs were like her own family, but for some reason, she felt extremely uncomfortable in front of Bulma that day. 

_'Maybe it's because you're living a lie.'_ She told herself. _'Or maybe it's because you're trying to convince one of the most influential women in the world that you're the right woman for her only son.'_

"Kara?" Bulma asked. They had been in the car for twenty minutes, and she was silent the entire time. "Kara, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Ms. Bulma, just a little tired." Pan replied.

"Well, maybe you should get some rest when we get back home. You've still got a whole party to get through today."

"That would be nice."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

They pulled up to the Capsule Corp building shortly afterwards. Pan yawned as they got out of the car and went inside. Her previous night's sleep had been basically useless, and she was still sore from sleeping wrong. _'A little nap couldn't hurt.'_ She told herself. 

"Hmm… It's twelve o'clock now, and the cosmologists won't be here until three, so that gives us about two hours, before we have to start getting dressed." Bulma figured out loud. "Why don't I show you to a guest room, so you can get changed and rest a little before hand?"

"Thank you Ms. Bulma, I appreciate it." Pan said. 

"No prob…"

The doorbell rang just then, interrupting her sentence. Pan followed her into the front room, which was a mistake. Bulma opened the door. It took a moment to register with Pan because it appeared so strange. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped quietly. 

"Oh, hi Gohan, hi Videl." Bulma greeted, just as an orange, red and black blur flew past her. "Hi Pan!" She yelled. 

"Hi Bulma." Gohan said back. 

Pan's mouth was till open with shock, but she composed herself quickly, and put on a polite smile. 

"Oh, this is Kara, Trunks' girlfriend." Bulma said. "Kara, this is Goten's brother Gohan and his sister-in-law Videl. That little girl who ran by faster than you could probably see was Pan, their daughter."

"Hi." Videl greeted.

"Hello." Pan respectfully replied. _'Wow, they look so young!  Mom's hair is so short!'_

Gohan waved at her and smiled, then turned back towards Bulma. "Thanks for taking her for the weekend. When we scheduled this trip, we didn't think Mom was going to come down with a bad cold."

"And I don't think Goten's ready to handle an eight year-old for a couple of days straight." Videl included. 

"It's no problem, Gohan. Besides, she'll probably have more fun here with Bra and Trunks."

"Where _is_ Trunks?" The little Pan asked, coming back with Bra following. 

"He's out running errands," Bulma said, "But he'll be back soon."

"Oh," little Pan said with disappointment. It was then that the little girl finally noticed the woman who was also standing there. A scowl automatically formed across her face.

"That's Trunks' new girlfriend." Bra whispered in her friend's ear. The little Pan's scowl deepened, and Bra giggled at her reaction. 

"Well, I'm sorry we picked the weekend of your big party." Videl said. 

"Don't worry, Vegeta will be here. I couldn't drag him to one of these things if his life depended on it." Bulma said, but after a moment, she began to see an error in that statement. "On second thought, maybe you should worry. We are talking about Vegeta and Pan here. I'm sure the two could drive each other crazy, given the chance."

The older Pan chuckled silently at some of the memories she was reliving where Vegeta had to baby-sit her. She never knew why, but for some reason, it was particularly enjoyable to annoy Vegeta. 

"Well maybe she could just come with us to the party."

"I don't have a dress!" The little Pan quickly and loudly replied, fearing the thought of having to dress up. 

"She could borrow one of mine!" Bra yelled.

Little Pan's expression of anger quickly became one of terror as she imagined what she would look like in a pink, frilly dress. She hissed at Bra, and even bared her teeth. Again, Bra just giggled at Pan's expression. 

"No that's okay," Gohan intervened, much to his daughter's delight, "I'm sure Vegeta can handle her for a few hours."

"Well, we have your number, if we need you."

"Thanks again Bulma." Gohan said, "Panny, you behave this time okay?"

"Okay!" She yelled as she and Bra ran back to their room. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Gohan and Videl walked back to their car as Bulma waved them off, and closed the door behind them. Videl had a peculiar look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked his wife as they drove off.

"I have a strange feeling that I've seen that girl before."

"Who? Kara?"

"Yeah."

"Well of course you have."

"Where?" She asked him.

"Every time you look in the mirror." He laughed.

"Gohan, I'm serious." She said.

"Well, if _I_ ever saw her before, I'd remember. She looks a lot like you."

"Really?" She asked. "You don't think that's weird?"

"Look, I'm almost positive Goten and Trunks both had crushes on you when they were kids. So it's expected that Trunks may date someone like you."

Videl smiled, "You've got to be kidding me. Them? They had crushes on me? I thought Trunks' type was blonde and stupid." 

"They were young boys then, and according to Goten, all of those dumb blondes were just dates. He said Trunks was rather serious about this one. Maybe this is his true type."

"Hmm… well, she seemed a lot nicer than most of the other girls he's dated… and prettier too."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Sorry about that. I didn't know they'd be coming so early. They hardly ever get a vacation together, so I just thought I would help them out." Bulma said. 

"That's nice of you." 

"Well, if I could ever get Vegeta to go on a trip with me, I'm sure they would do the same."

Bulma led Pan to one of the bigger guest rooms. It had a large entertainment center in the corner, and a king-sized bed in the center. Pan thought she had never seen that room, but maybe it was just used as something else in her time. Then again, they had a ton of rooms in that house, and she was sure she had not seen them all. 

"Here you go. Feel free to take a nap on the bed or watch some TV. I'll bring your dress in so you can get changed later, and don't worry about waking up, I'll let you know before the beauticians get here."

"Thank you Ms. Bulma." Pan said.

As soon as Bulma walked out of the room and closed the door, Pan went over to the bed and collapsed. She stretched as far as her body would allow and let out a loud yawn. Her stomach then growled loudly, to remind her about her packed lunch and her promise to eat it when she got a moment alone. 

She sat up and dug through her pockets. She found the capsule and threw it on the ground. A little puff of smoke came up and then cleared, and on the floor was a large picnic basket. She sat herself down and started emptying the contents on to the floor in various places. There was rice, chicken yakiniku, some beef curry, and even a couple of small sushi rolls. They kind of smelled, so she kept them in their container. She got out her water bottle and started chomping. The beef curry went fast, and her stomach thanked her for it. 

She ate happily for a couple of minutes. She was just about to finish her curry when she heard a noise. It sounded like someone snickering. With her mouth full, she turned around and saw little Pan and Bra laughing at her. She gasped and nearly choked on her food, which made them laugh louder. 

"You eat like a pig!" Little Pan yelled. 

Her older version glared at her. _'You should talk, Mini Me.'  _

Bra was laughing behind her, "And I thought my dad ate fast!"

"That's not a very nice thing to say." The older Pan said through clenched teeth, before returning to her meal.

Suddenly the smell of food reached both girls noses and they stopped laughing. Now they were inching forward in curiosity, hoping the woman might offer them something to eat. 

"Don't even think about it." The older Pan said with her mouth full while protecting her meal. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Bra said while licking her lips.

"Yeah," The younger Pan admitted, "that smells really good."

The older Pan thought about it for a moment. Bra was just being a typical younger sister, and the younger Pan was probably jealous of her older version for dating Trunks, like she remembered being. She used to pull some pretty nasty stuff on some of Trunks' girlfriends, at least, the mean ones. She even managed to scare a lot of them away. 

"Okay." She gave in, not wanting the young terror's retaliation. "You can have some of it, but only if you two promise to be nice."

"Yeah." Bra answered.

"Okay, whatever." The younger Pan said while wiping the drool from her chin.

The two of them sat down and ate. The older Pan split the meal into three parts, while giving them the smaller portions. After all, they would soon have dinner, and this meal was going to have to last the older Pan virtually all night. They each ate like there was no tomorrow. The older Pan didn't mind eating so much in front of the kids. Most likely, they weren't old enough yet to know that eating that fast wasn't normal. 

After the meal, the younger Pan sat rubbing her tummy. "Wow, that was almost as good as my grandmother's cooking!" 

"Uh huh!" Bra agreed. "Hey, what other stuff do you have in your capsules?" She asked as she began digging through the other capsules that Pan had put on the floor. 

"Just some… clothes, and boring things." The older Pan said as Bra threw one down on the floor. It exploded into a gym bag. 

The younger Pan spotted something orange and familiar, as Bra exploded more capsules around them. She tugged on it and it came out of the bag. It was her orange bandana. "Hey!"

"Oh," The older Pan explained, "that's just a… umm… flag. From a race."

"No it's not!" The younger Pan yelled, as she sniffed it, checking for the sent of her hair and the detergent her mother used to wash it. "That's my bandana! It was missing! You stole it!"  
  
  


"I did not!" The older Pan yelled in her defense. 

"Did to!" 

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

The older Pan reached for it and began pulling. "Did not!"

"Did to!" The younger Pan yelled, while pulling back as hard as she could.

"Did not!" The older Pan yelled louder while pulling back harder. 

The game of tug-of-war over the bandana ensued. Neither Pan could believe how strong the other one was. They pulled even harder, but they both held back still, not wanting to rip the cherished article of their grandfather's old gi. 

"I did not steal your stupid bandana!" The older Pan yelled. 

"Stop pulling so hard! You're going to rip it!" 

"And after I gave you all that food…!" 

Bra just sat there on the bed, watching as the two fought it out over the bandana. She happened to look up at the doorway, where her mom was standing. Little Bra took off as fast as her legs could carry her, not wanting to be blamed for what was going on. As Bra ran out, little Pan looked up at the doorway too and saw Bulma. Scared at maybe getting in trouble, she let go of the bandana, sending her older version to the floor. The older Pan landed with hard thud. The younger Pan started laughing, but she stopped as soon as Bulma scowled. 

"What's going on here?" Bulma asked, obviously angered. "Why are you in Kara's room after I told you to be quiet and not disturb her?"

"She stole my bandana!" The younger Pan cried out.

"Oh? Which bandana would that be? This one?" Bulma asked holding up an identical bandana. "You dropped it in the front room when you zoomed by after your parents dropped you off."

The little Pan said nothing. She just ran by and grabbed the bandana. Bulma let out a frustrated sigh. 

"Sorry about that." She said as she closed the door. 

The older Pan chuckled lightly, as she got back up and proceeded in re-encapsulating everything. After she was done cleaning up her mess, she plopped back down on her bed and covered up. "Man, I was such a little brat." She scoffed. Shortly after, she fell asleep. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

He knocked on her door gently. There was no answer, so he opened it slowly. She was still lying on the far side of the bed; her back was turned to him. "Kara?" He said, not wanting to startle her. "Kara?" He said a little louder. 

Still, she didn't move. He walked over to the bed and climbed up on it. Gently he crawled to her side, and whispered in her ear, "Kara?"

She moaned lightly and turned over, but she was still asleep. _'Wow, she must be pretty far gone.'_ "Kara?" He stroked her hair to the side. She was lying on her back, facing him. The temptation was too great, and he had always wanted to try it, so he leaned down, and put his lips to hers. When he felt that she wasn't kissing back, he pressed harder, but she still didn't wake up. "Kara?" 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

_"Look Panny, I'm sorry, but I have to run. I've got a date tonight and I'm running late."_

_ "Trunks, I love you."_

_ "Panny, some day you're going to find a nice boy who is your age and cares about you very much. Then, you'll completely forget about me." He smiled and messed her hair with his hand._

_"What?"_

_"Don't be in such a rush Panny…Panny." His voice echoed. "Panny? Panny… Kara? Kara?"_

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Kara? Kara?" He kept saying, louder and louder. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes. She was startled and jumped at the sight of his close face. "Trunks?" She said groggily. 

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty, it's time to get ready for the ball." He said softly.

She relaxed and stretched in contentment with her nap. He leaned down again and kissed her. This time, she was awake enough to reciprocate it. "Hmm…" She moaned after they broke, "That was a nice way to wake up."

He chuckled. "Did I scare you? You looked like you were having a dream."

"No, I don't remember." She said, closing her eyes again. 

"No you don't, you've got to wake up. Those beauty… people are coming in half an hour." He took her hand and pulled her into a sitting position. "Come on, wake up."

She groaned, and stubbornly made her body move and stand up on the other side of the bed. Trunks smiled. _'That's the way she looks right after she sleeps? Wow, I wouldn't mind waking up to that.'_ He thought fondly.  

"Your dress is on the dresser. Mom says to meet her in the main bedroom upstairs when you're done." He said. "It's the third…"

"Third door on the right." She finished along with him. 

He looked at her strange. "That's what she told me before." She quickly covered.

"Oh." He nodded. "Well, we should leave around five if we're going to get some dinner."

"Okay." She said, still sleepily.

He kissed her one more time before he stepped out and closed the door. She chuckled and sighed as she started undressing. "I think he likes kissing me." She quietly observed.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks stood in front of a mirror in the front room and adjusted his tie. He had been ready for a half an hour, but Kara and Bulma were running late. After checking five times over for any misplaced clothing or mysterious body odors, he was sure he would make an essential impression. Tonight was important for the young VP of Capsule Corporation. He would be introducing himself as the future CEO of the company for the first time, and mingling with his future clients that might not like the idea of such a young man taking over such a powerful company. He had to amaze them with his know-how and maturity, to let them know that he was more than capable of taking over his grandfather's business. 

However, his career was not his main worry for that night. There was Kara. He was going to tell her how he really felt that night, and make it clear to her how much she meant to him. His body was reacting like it was his first date ever. His palms were sweaty, his mouth was dry, he felt overly self-conscious, and he had discovered a large pimple that was making its appearance on his forehead. Luckily, it was hidden well by his hair. For some reason, she seemed to have that kind of effect on him, ever since the first time he saw her.   

"I'm nervous." He admitted quietly. 

Vegeta sat behind him, staring at the TV. The woman had said that he would have to stay inside and watch the younger brat and her friend the entire night. He wasn't allowed to train. After several failed incentives, she finally resorted to hard torture for the Saiyan. The threat of one full week of her patented home-cooked meals and sleeping in the gravity room for a month brought him out of his pride, and he gave in to her orders. Oh well, at least there was a nice, relaxing, action movie on that night. 

Trunks looked back at his dad. His eyes were fixed on the TV screen, apparently he was watching some goofy clown dance around and give the weather report. "Dad?"

Vegeta grunted, which was about the best response Trunks could ever expect from him. 

"What do you think of her?" Trunks asked.

"Of who?"

"Kara, that girl I've been dating for the last couple of weeks."

"Why would I care about who you choose to mate with?"

Trunks growled quietly at his father. He knew Vegeta was never one for father and son talks, but at least he could give him some input. He could just tell him whether or not…

"So what do you think?" Bulma asked, interrupting Trunks' thought.

He spun around and saw the most incredible sight he had ever seen. His jaw went slack and all he could seem to do was stare… at her. She had on her dress and her shoes, and of course, they looked like they had been made for her and her alone. Her hair was simple. Two strands on the side of her face were brought up behind her head, and secured with a small, gold hair clip. To him, she was magnificent, flawless, the embodiment of perfection.

"Wow," was the only word he could find to express how beautiful she was to him.

A blush appeared on her face and she chuckled nervously. "I was hoping you'd say something like that."

"But it needs something." He added, putting on a serious face, and tapping his chin with his forefinger.

"Huh?" She asked quietly.

"This." He pulled out a small, flat, black, velvet box from his pocket and opened it.

Pan gasped at the necklace that was inside. It was beautiful. "Trunks, I can't…" 

"Yes you can." He interrupted. "When I saw this, I thought of you, so I had to get it."

"But Trunks, it had to be expensive. I can't just…" She trailed off.

Trunks laughed and walked around to her back, and put the necklace around her neck. "Its chain looks so delicate, but in reality, it's remarkably tough and strong. The stone appears simple, yet its brilliance can overwhelm a man from all the way across the room. I'm sure all the other necklaces were jealous of its splendor, and with good reason. It shouted out to me when I saw it, there was no way I could leave it alone. Just like you."

Pan laughed quietly at Trunks' suave line that he had given her, so corny, yet, utterly romantic. Then again, that's how Trunks was. "It's nice, thank you." She said to him, earning her one of his lady-killer smiles.  

Bulma laughed loudly in the background, snapping the two out of their haze. "How long did it take you to come up with that line?"

 Trunks glared at her, but complimented her, while giving her a kiss on the cheek, "You look very elegant yourself, Mother." 

"Thank you dear." She said. "Vegeta, we'll be back later. Try to keep the house in one piece and remember, Pan can be annoying, but she's only a little girl. _Do not kill her_."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

They got in their limo and drove off towards the restaurant. It was a nice restaurant, and probably very expensive. Bulma, of course paid for everyone in their party. There were fifteen people that they met there, all of them chatting about the latest stock quotes or the foreign exchange rate. Pan just sat back and ate, very little, while Trunks talked to the man across from them about inflation and the local government. 

Pan was glad when dinner was over. The food smelled very good, and she had already finished off her entire plate and two small loaves of bread that came with it. She really wanted to get to the dancing part of the party, so she could get close to Trunks. 

After they ate, the three of them piled back into the corporate limo and headed to the reception hall where the ball/party was being held. 

"I think Gyoza was very impressed with you, Trunks." Bulma said. 

"Huh?" He asked, "Oh, that man I was talking to?"

"Yeah, he's one of our bigger clients too. He owns some kind of clothing line."

Trunks nodded and looked over at Kara. She was staring out the window. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She answered. "I just like to see the city outside my window."

"Listen… I'm sorry if I seem a little… preoccupied tonight. It's just… this is a Corporate party, and all of the big shots are going to be here and…"

"I understand Trunks," Pan insisted, while leaning her head on his shoulder, "just promise me you'll save me a dance tonight."

"One? You'll be lucky if you get to sit down." Trunks chuckled.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"So then I just said, 'find your own ride home if you're going to be like that Mister!' and he did, but then…"

Pan was regretting the choice of table she had sat down at. The lady across from her was babbling on and on about how atrocious it was that her husband bought her a red car when she asked for a blue one. Pan wasn't really listening anymore, she just nodded her head occasionally, and the lady kept talking. Couples were dancing all across the dance floor, everyone looked like they were having a good time. There weren't very many people sitting down, but she was one of them. Bulma was dancing with some young man who looked to be about Trunks' age.

_'I'm sure Vegeta would love to see that.'_ She thought.

Trunks was over in the corner talking and laughing with a bunch of old guys about something. He looked like he fit right in with them. 

_'Maybe this is the "married to his job" part of his life.'_

All of a sudden there was quiet from the woman across from her, so Pan seized the opportunity. "Excuse me, Ika, but I'm going to go get something to eat."

"Oh, okay." Came the reply.

Pan made her way over to the snack bar. The lure of all the food was making her nearly insane. Quickly, she stuffed a few sandwiches in her mouth and swallowed, while loading up her plate with a few more. 

"Kara!" A voice yelled.

"Marron?" Pan said, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Unagi. He's the son of one of Capsule's clients."

"Yeah Trunks told me about him. He seems nice, from what I've heard."

"Oh, he is." Marron said, with a peculiar smile on her face. "Listen, you'll have to forgive Trunks for ignoring you like he is. I'm sure he doesn't mean to." 

"I know, he's busy with his job. He warned me about it before we came." Pan said, wondering what Marron was up to, "Why do you seem so determined to keep me happy with Trunks?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't mean to butt in; it's just that… well… it's been a long time since Trunks has relaxed with a girl, especially a girl that he's so serious about. It's nice to see him busy with something other than paper work." 

Pan smiled at her comment. "Thanks."

"Well, I'd better get back to my date. I just thought I'd come and say hi." Marron said, walking away.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Another hour passed and Pan was still sitting alone at a table. She really wanted to dance, but Trunks was having an animated conversation with some woman about… something. Pan really didn't care. She was bored. She went back up to the snack bar. She had already emptied out their supply of finger sandwiches and desserts. Now all that was left was fruit, cheese, and those little fish-egg crackers.  She was picking her way through the strawberries, trying to find one that looked fresh, when something tapped her on the shoulder. She smiled thinking that Trunks was finally going to ask her to dance, but it wasn't him. 

"Hello, dear lady. My name is Sunomono. Would you care to dance?" The polite man asked.  

He was tall, sort of muscular, and her had dark hair. He looked nice enough, and she was bored. "Sure, I'm Kara." She accepted.

So they headed out on the dance floor. He was a pretty good dancer, but she felt kind of awkward with him. He held her very close, and his eyes were traveling too far south for her comfort. She was trying to make small talk and get him to look at her face instead of the area below her neck, but he was too… preoccupied with the woman in his grip. She put up with it for the song. The last thing she needed was to appear rude in front of one of Trunks' clients or business partners. Thankfully, the song ended quickly. 

"Thanks for the dance." Pan said as she attempted to walk away. 

"How about another one?" Sunomono offered.

Without waiting for an answer, he took off again, sweeping her around the dance floor. Pan just chuckled in annoyance. Oh well, dancing with that jerk was a lot more entertaining than having another conversation with Ika. She decided to put up with it for longer, hoping that Trunks might see it and get jealous. It was okay until Sunomono's hand started snaking its way down her backside. 

"I'm getting tired, I'm just going to go sit down now." She said, prying his fingers off of her end.   

"Hey, the song isn't done yet." He argued, putting his hand back where he wanted it. 

"I'd really rather go now." She said. The man was really ticking her off, and her ki was rising.

"Look, babe…"

"Can I cut in?" Trunks asked, offering his hand to her.

Sunomono backed off, not even questioning Trunks. He wrapped his arms around Pan and started moving to the music. His smile never left his face as he admired her appearance once again.

"That was very heroic of you." She said, even though she was slightly peeved that he might think she needed her help getting rid of the scum. "Shouldn't you be mingling?"

"Nope, I'm done. I've made it clear to my associates that I am going to dance with my date for the rest of the evening." He stated. 

She smiled softly at him. She was glad that she had gotten his attention and that he was dancing with her again. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Shh… don't make too much noise, or he'll wake up." The little Pan said.

"I don't think we should do this. Daddy gets mad when people pull jokes on him." Bra stated.

The two little girls tiptoed over to the couch where Vegeta lay. The large explosions and sounds of gunfire from the movie he had been watching had lulled him to sleep. The two part-Saiyans were going to take advantage of the fact that their babysitter was out cold. Well, Pan was. Bra was going along for the adventure. She well knew the ramifications of making her father unnecessarily angry.  

Pan gently shook the three different spray cans. It was taking all of her willpower not to burst out laughing. "Bra, you come here and cover his eyes while I spray. _And be careful!_ We don't want him to wake up while we're still working!" She whispered. 

"Okay!" She agreed, as Pan started spraying.

A few minutes had gone by and they were finally finished. All of the color from every can had been used on their masterpiece. Pan threw the spray cans away and walked back into the living area to admire her work, Bra followed. Both of the girls were giggling uncontrollably at the site, but they were trying their hardest not to be too loud. 

"It's too bad we didn't have purple." Bra said. "Brother would like to have seen that."

Pan pulled out a small camera from her pocket. "Now for the evidence." She whispered. 

She took a picture, but she forgot one small detail… the flash. It woke Vegeta up with a start, as the two girls looked on in horror. 

"What's wrong with you?" He asked grumpily. 

"Run!" Bra yelled loudly. 

The two girls took off in different directions faster than even Vegeta could see. Immediately, he suspected something, so he walked over to the mirror. "Ahhhhhh!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs at his reflection. His eyebrows were neon green and orange, and his hair was mostly hot pink with some more green and orange mixed in. From his receding hairline to the very peak of the ends, his hair was colored. "You'd better pray to Dende that this washes out!"

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The night seemed to fly by in his arms. All she could do was look at his gorgeous smile. She was glad when he told her the evening had gone well for him, but now it was time for fun. They must have traveled across the entire dance floor that night. Her feet were killing her in those shoes, but she didn't care. If need be, she could always float across the dance floor. 

Trunks couldn't stop staring at her. He was being unusually quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. He couldn't believe he had such a breathtaking woman in his arms dancing with him. He had been going crazy trying to think of things that might make her stay in town for longer than she was planning on. Why did she have to leave so soon after she got there?

"So what do you know about this Unagi guy?" Pan asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, he's rich, and he's next in line to inherit his father's multi-billion dollar company." Trunks answered.

Pan looked over at Marron and Unagi. They were dancing, and it looked like they were having a good time. "It looks like they really like each other."

 "Uh huh." Trunks mumbled. He would rather concentrate on the woman he was dancing with then on Marron.

"Poor Goten." Pan said sadly.

Trunks looked at her questioningly. Goten had been very discreet about his feelings for Marron. "How did you…?"

"How did I know? It's obvious. Goten's been practically falling over her since the moment I met them."

"Well, you're more observant than she is." He said. 

"Why doesn't he just tell her how he feels and get it over with?" She asked.

"He's afraid that it might make things awkward between them. I have a feeling she feels the same way, but they're both stubborn when it comes to this. It's like they're both waiting for the other to make the first move." He explained.

"That's too bad." Pan said. "They're not going to be able to love each other just because neither of them are honest enough to explain…" She trailed off, realizing the irony of what she just said.

Trunks stopped dancing and looked in her eyes. What she said had meaning, but not towards Goten, towards himself too. "Kara, I have to talk to you about something."

"Go ahead." She said.  

He resumed dancing, hoping the movement would calm his nerves. "Speaking of honesty, I haven't been truthful with you."

She looked at him with concern in her eyes. 

"I mean, I'm not supposed to reveal… something about myself to anyone. That is… unless I really care about them."

Pan became extremely apprehensive. What was he talking about?

Trunks struggled to find the right words to say what he needed to say. "If you don't believe a word of what I'm about to say, I understand, but please don't run away. I'm telling this to you now because I… well… I-I-I'm in l-love with you and I want you to trust me. There shouldn't be any secrets between people who love each other, right?"

Pan stood there almost in shock. Whatever he was about to say could not be good. _'Uh oh'_

_'I should have asked Gohan about this before hand. I wonder how he told Videl.' _Trunks continued, reaching up to loosen his collar. He had never told anyone about this before, and he wasn't quite sure how she would handle it. "My father… isn't exactly from… around here."

_'No, Trunks don't!' _Her mind screamed out. 

"A long time ago he came here… from another… planet. He was the Prince of this planet and was named after it. Umm… Goten's father is from this planet too, but he hit his head and didn't remember until he was told about it as an adult. The people from this planet are unusually strong. Umm… do you remember Cell? Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Satan didn't defeat him. Goten's brother Gohan did. M-My family and Goten's have been saving the world from every strong threat since… well… for about thirty years or more. We're… much stronger than any human could possibly be." Trunks barely managed to get it all out of his mouth. He was going to go on about it, but then he looked up at Kara. She had a blank look across her face, and she didn't look very comfortable.

_'He cares about me so much, he was willing to reveal our families secret? Why did you do that Trunks? Why would you go and tell your girlfriend everything about us?' _ She argued to herself.

 "Look, Kara, I'm telling you about this because I want you to know how much I care about you and how serious I am. I've never told anyone before because I've never found someone who I trusted so much. I love you."

Pan felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't believe that he had told her… about everything. Everyone she was close to knew that this… family secret could put them all at risk. If it ever got out to the wrong people, they would never be left alone again. That was the whole reason they gave credit to Mr. Satan for defeating Cell and Buu, to protect their family. But he wasn't telling just anybody. He had made it very clear to her about how he felt. _'He trusts me. He loves me.' _She kept repeating to herself. 

Trunks looked on at Kara. Her face was still blank, but she looked more hurt than anything. He couldn't figure it out. "Kara, I know this must sound very weird to you, but you've got understand. I don't want to hide anything from you. Every time I'm with you, I have to lie to you about something, and that can't be good for a relationship, especially one that… I hope… is so serious."

Still, she did not answer him. He could she her eyes glassed over, like she was going to cry, but a tear never left her eyes. "Kara? Kara, say something, you're scaring me."

"I…I…" She began, desperately searching for the words that she needed. She becoming over-whelmed with guilt and emotion, and she would not allow herself to cry in front of him. Not now. "I need some air."

Trunks watched his love run out of his arms and out the door. He hesitated for a moment, wondering what he should do. He couldn't just let her get away over something so trivial. He ran out the door to find her, desperate to find out what went wrong, and make things right.  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan shivered in the cold of the night air. Everything in her being told her to go back to the ship, and get the spray before it was too late, but she didn't move. She just stood there, outside of the reception hall, freezing her butt off while a million different emotions and thoughts ran through her brain. _'He told me. I can't believe he trusts me so much. He was completely honest with me. Why can't I do the same? Because he would hate me, that's why. I love him so much, but he loves Kara, not Pan. What am I going to do?'_  

She rubbed her arms and breathed in her hands, attempting to warm up. Suddenly, a jacket was wrapped around her shoulders. She turned around. He had come after her.

"I'm glad I didn't have to look too far for you. I was afraid I was going to lose you." Trunks said. 

Pan put her arms inside the jacket, grateful for the warmth. She subtly sniffed the collar. _'Why does he have to smell so good?'_

They both stood in silence for a while, neither really sure of what to say. Finally, Trunks broke the silence. "I don't know how to… apologize for being honest. Are you out here because of what I said?" He asked.

Pan took his hand and led him over to a near-by park bench where they sat down.

 "No Trunks, although telling me that you're an alien is kind of weird. I just… freaked out. Not because of what you said… but… you were being so honest. I mean, you were telling me everything about yourself, and… I… well… I couldn't do the same. I couldn't just tell you the truth. I love you too, but there, in that room I felt suffocated." She told him, being straightforward for the first time since she landed. A small blush spread across her cheeks in response of what she said.

"So… you don't mind?" 

"Mind? No, but this does answer a few questions."

"Like what?" He inquired.

"Like your high ki, your large appetite, your father's hair…" She joked.

Trunks laughed at her response. He leaned over and gave her a kiss, which she happily received. "I love you." He said, the low, serious tone in his voice giving Pan chills.

"I love you too." She said back. "Now, tell me more about… your planet."

"Well…" 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks and "Kara" spent an hour outside. Pan sat there and looked up the stars, she still insisted that they looked brighter in the past. Trunks continued to tell her everything about the Saiyans, every battle they've ever been through, and every challenge that ever crossed their path. He told her about his relationship with his father, the Super Saiyan transformation, and even the dragon balls. Time went by quickly, and before they knew it, the party was over.  

Their limo picked them up at the door and they were headed back towards Capsule Corporation. Pan leaned her head on Trunks' shoulder the entire way home, and by the time they got there, she was gone. 

"Mom, she's asleep." Trunks observed.

"Yeah, I noticed. Why don't you bring her inside and put her in one of the guest rooms?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just make sure she sleeps in the guest room, and not in _your_ room." She ordered.

"Mom!" Trunks yelled quietly, at his mother's allegation.  

Trunks picked her up in his arms and carried her inside. He was surprised by how much she weighed while having such a small body. They walked through the living area and found Vegeta on the couch. Bra was laying on his chest and Pan was cuddled up with a blanket on the floor. They were all sound asleep. 

"Aw!" Bulma whispered. "Aren't they adorable?"

Trunks laughed quietly. "Yeah, all three of them."

"Go ahead and drop her off, then come back here and help me with Pan and your sister." She said.

Bulma stayed in the living room and woke up Vegeta while Trunks took Kara back to the room where she had put her clothes earlier. Gently, she stirred as he laid her down on the bed and took off his jacket that she had been wearing. He reached behind her head and undid her hairpin so it wouldn't hurt her, then covered her up.

_'Wow, when she's out, she's out. Kind of like a Saiyan.'_ Trunks thought to himself.  

"Trunks?" A sleepy, but loud voice sounded from the doorway.

"Shh… Kara is trying to sleep Pan. What's wrong?"

"Me and Bra put some spray in Vegeta's hair and he got mad and chased us through the house, so we…" The little Pan started at a hundred miles per hour.

"Okay, okay," Trunks interrupted, "Go to bed, I'll be there in a minute to tuck you in, you can tell me all about it then."  

The little Pan yawned and stretched as she walked back down the hallway. She loved it when Trunks tucked her in, even if she _was_ too old to be tucked in. But why was that woman sleeping here? And why did he have to tuck her in too?

Trunks looked back at Kara. He loved to watch her sleep; she looked so peaceful and lovely. He bent down and gave her a soft kiss on the fore head, and brushed some of her hair away from her face. "See you tomorrow, love." He whispered as he closed her door.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

So… what do you think? It's long again. I told myself I wasn't going to write that much in this chapter. Oh well. Sorry for the stinky names, but I was reading a Japanese menu while I was writing.  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	10. Chapter 11

**Title:** Waiting (Chapter 11)

**Author:** The Noseless Wonder = Þ

**Disclaimer:** I have no disclaimer. Well, I had one, but my dog ate it. Just read the other chapters, the disclaimer's there.

**Author's notes:** I have Unmei no Hi stuck in my head… again. I can't wait for Gohan to go level two, even if it is the stinky dub! There's a teeny tiny bit of OOC in this chapter for Goku… I think. But that's only if you consider him to be _completely_ ignorant of Chichi's feelings. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The younger Son laid on the grass as he looked up in the sky at the clouds that slowly drifted by. Everything was so peaceful there on his little patch of grass. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and life was going great… for the time being, at least. He slowly inhaled the fresh, warm air, allowing it to fill his senses and his mind. For that small moment in time, he didn't have a worry in the world. 

He looked over at his older brother. He was groaning as he tried to lay down beside him. It wasn't an easy thing for him to do because of his incredibly sore muscles. The morning had been harder for the older Saiyan, who had spent the early hours attempting to get back into shape. He had gone so many years without training, it was going to take a while before he got anywhere near his old level. And now that he had lost his mystic transformation, he would have to work extra hard at it. 

Finally, Gohan got all the way down, slowly relaxing as he put his hands behind his head for support. The two brothers stayed silent for a moment. It was an almost awkward quiet that had only befallen them a few times in their lives. Goten had spent the majority of his life looking up to Gohan. In a matter of speaking, he still did. He hadn't gotten to know his father like Gohan had, due to the fact that Goku was dead during a large portion of Goten's life, so even when Goku _was_ alive, things were… tough. Goten never felt comfortable opening up or having any _real_ father-son talks with him. Gohan, however, was always there, willing to listen. He cared a great deal for his younger brother, and when something was deeply bothering him, he would always make time to talk, no matter what. It's too bad he could never talk to Goku like that.

Goten pushed it out of his mind. He didn't want to dwell on the past anyway, and talking to Gohan would only make things more uncomfortable. Besides, there were more… pleasant things that his mind could be occupied with. 

_'That cloud looks like Marron.' _ He thought, not without a small smile spreading across his face. 

 Gohan turned his head towards Goten. _'There's that smile again.'_ He thought, knowing full well what it always meant. "You know, if you'd get off your butt and train, you could actually be _with_ her right now, instead of just daydreaming about her." 

"I know," Goten replied. "I miss her, but I'm tired right now."

Gohan sighed in light frustration. He never thought that Goten would slack off when it came to his wife. "If you're _that_ tired, then why don't you go eat lunch with Dad and Vegeta? We'll get back to work in an hour or so."

"Aren't you going to eat too?"

"No, I need to go talk with Piccolo about something, I'll eat later."

"I think I'll eat when you eat then. I can wait." Goten remarked, a note of anger crossing his voice and his expression. 

Gohan got up, with some trouble, and walked to where Piccolo was. He was mildly concerned with his brother's attitude. Gohan had hoped that Goten's training would bring the Son family closer together, but ever since the training started, the younger Saiyan only seemed to grow _more_ distant towards their father. Now, a month later, it appeared that Goten was uncomfortable even being alone with him. He would get agitated if, for some reason, Gohan, Piccolo or Trunks couldn't train with him.  

_'Maybe all the stress is just digging up some old resentment that Goten still feels towards Dad.' _Gohan thought. He was almost sure that Goku had picked up on it too. Goku was usually off training with Vegeta or Ubuu, therefore appearing too busy to train with his younger son. It was possible that he was busying himself on purpose, as a way of avoiding Goten. 

Goten had even declined the offer to spar with Ubuu, which sort of surprised Gohan. After all, Ubuu was the one person in that group who had studied under Goku the most. _'I thought Dad and Goten had worked it out, but I guess Goten's still angry with him for leaving.'_ Gohan thought, looking back at his brother. 

Goten still laid there, looking up at the clouds. His stomach was loudly protesting his earlier decision not to eat with his father, but he didn't care. He simply ignored the rumbling noises and returned to his daydreaming. _'That cloud looks like Marron… holding a turkey.'_

Piccolo opened his eyes at sensing his old friend and student approaching. "Good fight today, Gohan."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do that again for a while." Gohan said, stretching his sore back muscles. "I think I'm getting old."

Piccolo just slightly smirked. Truth was, Gohan could probably go for another few rounds without any major problems at all. 

"So Mr. Piccolo, how much longer do you think we're going to have to keep this up?" Gohan asked. "Do you think he's strong enough to unleash his power?"

"It doesn't matter how strong he gets." Piccolo answered, earning a confused look from his former pupil. "He could train and train and train, but it's not going to do him any good."

Gohan twisted his head in confusion, for the first time in his life, he looked as naïve as Goku. "What do you mean? How do you know?"

"It's a long story. But I know that it's not strength he's after, it's power. There is another Saiyan form. I don't know what it's called, but I know that it surpasses many levels of a Super Saiyan."

"Does he need the moon to transform or something? Is that why it's taking so long?" Gohan asked, not really getting how or why Piccolo could know this. 

"No, it's not like that."

"So he's going to be a whole lot stronger… and then what?" Gohan asked, scratching the back of his head and hoping Piccolo hadn't gone crazy. 

"This new form… his strength and speed will increase, but it won't be any big thing. It's his power. His power will increase beyond anything that you have ever witnessed. If you thought Super Goku four was immense…"

"But Mr. Piccolo…" Gohan interrupted, frustrated that the Namek wasn't giving him a straight answer, "How is he going to transform? Where is he going to get the power?"

"The power will come from within. I'm not sure if it's brought on by an explosion of anger, or a sudden need of the new power, but he will have to be pushed into it… somehow."

"Wow, so Goten takes after Dad more than he realizes. He's going to surpass everyone and carry on the tradition…"

"You can too, Gohan." Piccolo spoke. "The ability is spread throughout your entire blood line. You have what it takes and so do your children. However, I'm sure that it does take some human blood to complete the transformation. Part Saiyans have always had more natural strength than full Saiyans. Although, Son might be able…"

"But Mr. Piccolo," Gohan interrupted once more, "how do you know this?"

Piccolo straightened up and became slightly concerned, realizing that he had said too much, too soon. "I will tell you later, when it's appropriate."

"But Mr…"

Piccolo narrowed his eyes and scowled at Gohan, giving him an answer that said it all. The Saiyan knew better than to question Piccolo, and when the Namek said the conversation was over, it was over. So, Gohan walked away, unknowing why Piccolo would not divulge his information.  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Goku quietly sat back in the shadows. He had finished eating a while ago and had successfully eavesdropped on Gohan and Piccolo's conversation. _'So Goten needs to get angry…' _ He thought to himself. _'He needs to be pushed into his power, just like his brother. Too bad there isn't a Cell or Buu around when you need one. If there was, then I could just…' _Goku interrupted his own thought. For at that moment, an idea popped into his head. _He_ would find the motivation his son needed in order to transform… no matter how painful it might be. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Gohan, more confused now than ever, walked back over to his brother. He stood over him, looking down. His eyelids were falling slowly, but his eyes were still fixated on the clouds. He was practically asleep. 

"Well," Gohan stated loudly, "We'd better get started again."

Goten tore open his eyes, finally accepting the fact that he wasn't going to get any sleep soon. "Okay." He yawned as he stood up and stretched.

"This time, spar with the boy." Vegeta stated as he pointed to his son. "He's barely done anything since he got here but sit around staring into nothingness with a dumb look on his face."

"Okay, fine." Goten shrugged. As far as he knew, he was one of the weaker ones there anyway, so sparring with _anyone_ would be a challenge. 

Trunks glared at his father as he walked towards Goten. Both of the boys took their fighting stances, neither being very enthusiastic about fighting at that moment. They would much rather be sleeping, or sitting in an air conditioned room watching a movie and eating until they were fat. Trunks yawned as he put his fists up in front of his face for defense, as did Goten. After a few moments of simply standing there, Goten finally threw a halfhearted kick in Trunks' face. The kick was so lazy and slow, that Trunks managed to catch Goten's foot with his hand, even though he wasn't really paying attention. His mind was somewhere else. 

Both fathers let out a frustrated sigh, and Gohan rolled his eyes. Piccolo returned to meditating after realizing that it was far more exciting, as Ubuu looked on wide-eyed, wondering when the real fight was going to start. Both fighters exchanged some more lazy, non-effective hits for a few minutes. The warriors around them were growing bored, except for Goku, who was busy working up a plan. 

Goten's mind was too busy thinking about Marron and how hungry he really was. The attention he was giving this spar amounted to about as much attention as he gave the dishes when there was something good on TV. Trunks, on the other hand, was busy thinking about Pan and what she might be doing at that very moment. At last, Goten landed a punch directly on Trunks' nose.

"Ouch." His purple haired opponent whined, rubbing his nose where the other man's fist had landed.

"Oh please!" Vegeta yelled directly at Trunks. "I've seen better, more damaging fights than that between your mother and Kakarott's mate!"

Trunks scowled at his father and put up his fists again. Goten did the same, this time, actually directing his focus onto what was going on ahead of him. All at once the two Saiyans started their attacks. However, they only managed to get a few hits in before a foreign object blocked their paths. They both stopped what they were doing, realizing that Goku was standing in between them. 

"Father?" Goten asked, wondering what was up. 

"Trunks, why don't you let Goten and I spar for a little while?" Goku asked.

Trunks simply nodded and stepped away, having no idea what Goku was up to.

"Dad, I can spar with you when I get stronger. I don't think I'd be much of a challenge for you right now." Goten argued, trying to avoid having to fight with his father. 

"We won't have time later. I have to leave." Goku stated sternly. 

"What?! Why?!" Goten asked in disbelief. 

"I had a talk with Ubuu. We both think it would be a good idea for us to go off and spar alone for a while. Ubuu has a lot of catching up to do. After his village was destroyed in that earthquake a while back, he took a year off to rebuild it. It's time he made up for his lack of training."

Ubuu watched in confusion. His master had not said anything to him about going to train again. In fact, Ubuu was under the impression that he was there that day to make up for the time lost. He was about to speak up and ask Goku about it, but then Goku turned his head and looked directly at him. His face still had the same stern look on it, but his eyes were communicating everything to his pupil. Ubuu, still not completely understanding, got the message, and decided to play along.

"Yeah," the younger man said, "but we don't have much time if we're going to set up camp for today."

"Today?! You're leaving today?!" Goten shouted, his ki rising dramatically.

Goku withheld a small smile that was threatening to show itself on his lips and continued, asking, "Well, yeah. Why not?"

Goten's ki rose even higher. "Why not?! What about Mom?! She's expecting us in a few days!"

"Oh yeah," Goku innocently said, scratching his head. "Well, go ahead and eat whatever food she makes, I don't care."

Goten tightened up his fist as his ki skyrocketed. He was struggling to keep his anger in check, but it wasn't doing much good. Was he just going to leave again with out saying a word to her? How could he?!

"We'll be back in a couple of years. I might come for dinner in a few months or so. That is, if Ubuu's cooking skills haven't improved. Well, we'd better leave now if we're going to stop by his village to get supplies." Goku turned around, now facing his older son, and looking him straight in the eye. 

He gasped when he saw an almost pained look in his father's eyes. It took a few moments for Gohan to realize what was going on. No, he wasn't going anywhere. His full intention was to lie to Goten, and thereby making him angry. He was trying to get Goten to believe he was going to abandon them again. He was hoping to get him to explode, just like he had done with Gohan. His father wasn't leaving, he was staying right there, and Gohan knew his father would not give up until Goten had reached the pinnacle of his power.

"What is he doing?" Trunks whispered to Gohan, not receiving a reaction. "Doesn't he know how stupid it is to make Goten angry while he's…"

Just then, Goten's anger overcame him, and he transformed into Super Saiyan. But his ki was going higher, much higher, and he wasn't done yet. His usual golden aura was different. Reds and blues seemed to swirl around him. The near by foliage was reacting as if a sudden storm had brewed up, whipping around wildly. The other experienced fighters were able to stand their ground, but they stood wide eyes, wondering what was happening. Piccolo looked on with a smirk. The two transformations were exactly alike, even though the two fighters were at different levels. Pan and Goten had both somehow managed to surpass Super Saiyan.   

"Oh." Trunks gulped, realizing what was going on, and wondering if they should be so close.

"Ingenious." Gohan whispered, "My father's a genius."

Goten let out a low growl, and punched Goku hard in the back. Goku grunted and fell to the ground. It hadn't hurt that much, but Goten had hit him so the wind was knocked out of him. It was a clever way of getting his attention. 

"You can't just leave!" Goten yelled down at his father. "She needs you! She can't wait forever! Just because you seem to be immortal doesn't mean she is! She's getting older and she needs her husband!" 

Goku turned over and faced his son. He was still a little out of breath. He went Super Saiyan as well, simply to prevent being seriously injured if Goten decided to strike again. "You're right. She does need her husband, and it would be selfish of me to just leave her like that. She needs someone to take care of her, she deserves that."

Goten calmed a little bit, thinking, hoping, that his father had gotten the point. Maybe he had finally realized just how much it hurt Chichi when he would leave. In those years, she felt unwanted and uncared for. Goku always wondered why she seemed to be so angry all of the time, but it was simply because she was so lonely. 

Goku looked up, putting on the coldest face he could muster from inside himself. "Tell her… that she can remarry if she wants. I'll find somewhere else to live when I come back."

Goten flinched at the lack of feeling in his father's remark. His anger snapped. It washed over his like a tsunami, drowning him in unwarranted hate. His eyes could now only see one thing. His enemy, laying on the ground in front of him. The man he called "father" had never cared about anything other than himself. His wife was simply a cook to him, one that bared his children, and his youngest son, simply a look-alike who carried his blood. 

The other fighters began to step back. They all understood what Goku was doing, and it was probably for the best if they were not there to distract them. Goten's ki peaked, and he was about to explode. Everyone retreated to a safe distance, but Gohan stayed behind. He wanted to be there in case things got out of hand, but he also wanted to witness the power of this new form. 

Goten let out a blood-curdling scream as he blew up. The dome colored by reds and blues once again danced around him. They mixed, then separated again.  Small, electrical sparks generated by his powerful, fiery aura lit up the area. It made for a spectacular light show. Goku powered up again, unsure of how much power he was going to need in order for him to be able to defend himself against his son. 

Goten allowed the anger to take control, as another blast of energy came from within. Now his aura flared, and everything around him was consumed by a golden dome the size of many football fields. Goku and Gohan were consumed too, but not hurt. 

The dome subsided and disappeared. Goku and Gohan slowly uncovered their eyes. Before them stood Goten… at least, it looked like Goten. His hair was still black. If anything, it had only gotten blacker. His muscles were enlarged greatly and his pupils had disappeared. There was an eerie blue glow around him, shining faintly over the surrounding grass. The expression he wore on his face sent chills up and down Gohan's spine. It was as if he was looking at someone else. His face was colder than death, and he wore a smirk that would unnerve even Vegeta. He was not the same young man. 

Slowly, Goku stood. He should have been afraid of the enormous power his son was displaying, or even a little nervous, but he wasn't. The only emotion running through him at that moment was pride. It was the same pride he felt for Gohan the day he went Super Saiyan two and defeated Cell, the same pride he felt when Pan overcame her obstacles and went Super Saiyan, the same pride he felt when he held Goten for the first time, knowing that the little version of him he was lifting up and putting on his shoulder would surpass his father one day.

But now this young boy had turned into a man, a man that was bent on defeating his father, even if it meant his death. Goku quickly got into a battle stance, reminding himself that Goten was blinded by anger, and was not to be trusted. The smirk on Goten's face grew wider as he knew he would be facing his ultimate challenger. 

Goten's image fazed out. Goku knew what was coming, but before he could react and defend, he was kicked hard in the back of his head. He fell, but reached out with his arms and used them as a spring board, recovering with a flip and landing back on his feet. Goten chuckled, almost evilly. He was beginning to come out of his haze of anger, but his aggressive emotions were still controlling him. Goku was facing him again, standing in a defensive state and now, powered up to Super Goku four. 

Goten's image disappeared again, but this time, Goku knew what he was up to. He placed his arm on the side of his head, just in time to block another powerful kick. Without hesitating, Goku flew up in the air and fired a ki blast directly towards Goten. However, the blast never hit anything but ground. He was gone again. 

Goku was alarmed. Not because Goten had disappeared so quickly, but because he could not sense him. The older Saiyan looked in every direction, desperate to find some clue to where Goten had gone. He looked up, just in time to receive an energy blast aimed directly for his head. He put his arms up and out and fired one of his own, hoping to be able to counter it with jus enough strength to hit Goten, but not too hard. Goku struggled, but failed. The blast hit him instead, sending him straight for the ground.

He hit the earth hard, causing a deep, Goku-sized crater underneath him. Goten landed softly at his father's feet, studying him. Goku looked up, his vision was hazy and he thought he might lose consciousness. He was surprised more than anything. Goten had successfully hit him, very hard, even though he was in Super Goku four. Goku let out a couple of groans, making Goten feel content with his work. 

The younger Saiyan felt very satisfied, but his head hurt. He turned his back, only for a second, grabbing his head due to the immense pain. That's when Goku struck. Quickly, he flew into the sky. Reaching his hands out in front of him, palms aimed at Goten, he yelled, "Ka…me…ha…me…ha!"

The blast hit Goten directly and sent him into the crater, and even further down into the earth. Goku felt his son's power level fade, and let out a relieved sigh. Slowly and cautiously, he made his way over to the edge of the crater, only to find it empty. His heart jumped at the realization that he had not defeated Goten with his Kamehameha. 

Deep underground, Goten burrowed through the rocks as if he was swimming through water. Goku felt the ground underneath him rumble. Before he could make sense of what was going on, Goten exploded out from the earth and kicked his father in the back. The impact threw the older Saiyan thirty feet, but he quickly recovered and charged Goten. Goten knew his father's fighting style, and right then he was very confident in thinking that Goku was going to aim for his head. So, he foolishly guarded his upper body. But, instead of going with routine, Goku turned his body and aimed for the stomach, returning Goten's previous kick _with_ interest. 

The kick sent Goten flying through a couple of trees and a mountain. Gohan watched as Goku disappeared to meet Goten at the other side of the peak. Gohan followed cautiously, taking the senzu beans with him. Vegeta and Piccolo followed suit, not wanting to miss the action, as did Trunks and Ubuu. They were wise not to follow too closely.   

Goten slowly rose out of the rubble. His head was clearing now, and he could not remember what he was so angry with his father for, he just knew that he was. Goku hovered above him, unmoving, for he did not want to cause unnecessary injury to his son. Goten looked up and growled, quickly taking off into the air to meet his father in close combat once again. 

Goten successfully landed the first punch, directly into Goku's stomach, causing him to double over, but Goku quickly took the offensive. He delivered his own set of kicks and punches, using Goten's own body inertia to make them more powerful. Goten quickly turned, doubled up his fists, and tried to slam them into Goku's head, but he managed to dodge it before it made contact. 

_'Good idea.'_ Goku thought as he attacked with his own, this time hitting Goten right on the back of the neck.

Goten went speeding towards the ground. He did not recover this time, but crashed into the mountain side, where he stayed. His head was reeling from all the pain and emotion, and it was taking all of his strength just to stay conscious. Where was he? Oh yeah, he was fighting with his father. Did he really transform, or was that just a weird dream? No, it couldn't have been a dream. He had gotten so angry with his father, that he had surpassed his previous level. His hidden power had finally come out. A small hint of anger began to resurface as Goten remembered what his father had said. Then it dawned on him, his father knew what buttons to push with his sons in order to get them fired up. It was part of his skill as a fighter. Goten sighed and started to chuckle. It was all a trick, a clever trick. Slowly, he tried to stand up.

Goku saw Goten rising up, and it looked as if he was going to try to fly too. _'No! Stay down!'_ Goku thought, not knowing that Goten had snapped out of it. He sighed sadly. He was going to have to knock him unconscious before his son would ever give up. But, what must be done, must be done. "Ka…me…ha…"

"Father stop!" Goten cried. 

Goku lowered himself into the crater with Goten, being cautious incase it was a trap. His son was holding his arm. It appeared to be broken. His clothes were ripped and blood seemed to drip from every orifice on his body. 

"I'm okay now." Goten said, panting. 

Goku studied him. His smirk was gone and replaced by a cheesy grin much like his father's, and his pupils were visible again. He was back to his old self. Goku smiled and powered down, leaning over to catch his breath.

Goten was about to say something, but dizziness overcame him. He passed out in the middle of the crater. Goku sat down near him, knowing he would be okay, as long as Gohan was near them with the senzu beans. He was dizzy too, but determined to stay awake. He had to explain to Goten about what he had said earlier. 

Gohan quickly landed inside the crater and gave his father a senzu. After a few moments taken to regain his strength, Goku picked up his younger son and carried him back to camp. There, he was given a senzu as well.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Later that day, things were peaceful once again. Goten and Goku both rested for a while. Goten was grateful that his father was asleep, he wasn't ready to talk to him quite yet. However, dinner time was quickly approaching and Gohan had insisted that the two of them hunt something together. 

So as the sun became low in the sky, the men prepared for their final night out in the wilderness. Trunks and Ubuu built a fire, Vegeta watched. Trunks was trying his best to stay away from his father. He knew that Vegeta would be resentful that Kakarott's brat was more powerful than his brat was. 

Piccolo spent most of the afternoon meditating against a tree. He was only staying because Gohan had asked him to. Gohan went to go pick up Goku Jr. He had promised his boy that he could stay overnight with all the guys on the last night of training. That was another reason why Gohan was so adamant about Piccolo staying that night. Little Goku adored Piccolo, even though the feelings were far from mutual. 

Goten and Goku, now fully recovered, were in charge of grabbing dinner, so they fished… together. Goten was sort of uncomfortable around Goku, after all, he had just tried his best to kill him. Goku, on the other hand, acted like there wasn't a problem at all, which slightly annoyed Goten. 

"Goten," Goku started, surprising Goten. "What I said back there, when I was trying to get you upset…"  
  


"You don't have to explain, Dad." Goten said, but something in his voice wasn't very convincing. 

"I would never… leave again, not unless I absolutely had to. I love your mother and I…"

"I said you don't have to explain." Goten said, more uncomfortable now than before.

"I don't? Then why are you still acting weird?"

Goten really didn't want to answer that question, but it was something he knew he needed to get off is chest. "I know you were only trying to get me angry, but I was… really convinced with your lie. Truth is, I could see you doing that again. Just like you did with Ubuu, and after fighting evil Shenlong." 

"Goten, I didn't really have a choice when it came to fusing with the dragon balls, but I admit I was selfish when it came to leaving. When I left with Ubuu, I was trying to train a fighter who could take my place, but I was also very excited at the prospect of fighting another warrior who was just as strong as me. Who would have guessed that I could have trained you for the same outcome? The point is, I wanted to fight him, to see how I measured up. So I left, eagerly, without so much as a goodbye for your mother… at least, not the goodbye she deserved. I know I didn't come to visit, and believe me, I still kick myself for that, but honestly, I lost track of time. Ten years… it doesn't mean as much to me as it does for everyone else. I guess maybe it's because I've been dead so often for so long, or maybe it's because I've never been that concerned with time as it is, I don't know. But I forget… that people don't age like I do. It took me a while to get used to the fact that the wrinkles and gray hair on your mother and Bulma wasn't make-up. I wasted a lot of valuable time without her, just because I never realized how valuable that this time is."

"You would have realized sooner if you were the one who had to sit there and listen to Mom cry. You hurt her. You eagerly left with Ubuu and ignored her. You didn't even give her a personal goodbye, you just sort of… waved. A wife… is just an intimate friend to you, but to Mom, marriage is a partnership. She was crushed when you left so willingly. She felt like you didn't care about her anymore."

"I know." Goku stated sadly, while slightly embarrassed that he was discussing deep, personal aspects of his marriage with his son. 

"_Do_ you know?" Goten asked.

"Believe me, I had a long talk with her about it. I promised her that I would spend my life trying to make it up to her and I will. To you and Gohan too."

"I…I… don't think that…"

"I left you too. I could've taken you with me, or I could have visited more often and spent more time with you. Same with everyone. I missed so much of my granddaughter's life, that when I _did_ come back, I didn't even recognize her."

"Hmm…" Goten quietly spoke.

"But I'm planning on staying now. I want to be here for Panny and Goku Jr., and any kids that you decide to bring into the world. Besides, they need a grandpa who can help them train, and I don't think Krillin's up for it."

Goten chuckled lightly. 

"I'm looking forward to seeing a boy who looks exactly like us one day."

Goten stuck out his tongue while making a "disgusted" face. Goku chuckled. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

So the night went on. Trunks was pretty sure that Vegeta never stopped glaring at him. In fact, he was pretty sure that was the only reason Vegeta stayed with the group that night. He would never live it down if he didn't at least match Goten's strength.

Piccolo remained against the same tree meditating the whole night. Occasionally, he would join the conversation to reminisce about old battles. He told the group about Pan's transformation in the past and how much alike Goten and Pan's new forms were. Everyone was shocked. What did it mean? Needless to say, Goku and Gohan were beaming with pride to hear about her accomplishment. At this news, Vegeta's scowl became even deeper, and Trunks was almost sure that his father was planning his son's slow, and painful demise.

Ubuu sat next to Trunks and asked him millions of questions about Bra. Vegeta noticed the young man's sudden interest in his daughter. Trunks was relieved when his father's glare switched from him to Ubuu. Trunks just chuckled and told Ubuu not to let Vegeta get under his skin. Easier said than done. 

Goku Jr. had a blast. He sat on his father's lap most of the night and toasted "martchmallows" as he mispronounced, even at the age of five. At the end of the night, after the fire was out, the little boy became cold, and very scared of the dark, so he climbed up on his father's chest and slept here. Goten got a picture of it in the morning, knowing how much Videl would appreciate it. 

Goten and Goku Sr. were ordered to sleep three feet back from the fire. No one was able to get much sleep, due to their loud snoring. The good news was, the noise kept away all the wildlife. 

Their training mission had been a success. They all went back to their perspective homes the next morning. Gohan carried Goku home the entire way. The poor boy had been so afraid, he hadn't gotten much sleep. Videl enlarged and framed the picture that Goten took and hung it on the wall. 

Goten went back to Marron. They were both very happy to have training over and done with, so they could go back to enjoying their life together. 

Goku Sr. went back to Chichi. Something about the conversation he had with Goten made him all the happier to be home. Chichi was delighted at how unexpectedly "friendly" Goku was when he got home. Immediately, she stuck a thermometer in his mouth, thinking he was sick. Of course, even he _was_ sick, she was in no hurry for him to get better. 

Trunks and Vegeta went back home. Vegeta spent a straight week trying to convince the woman to take over the company again so he and the boy could go and train. She said 'no' for two reasons. First, she was sick of working and was enjoying her time off too much. Second, when Vegeta wasn't looking, Trunks followed her around the house on his knees begging her not to return to work. 

Trunks spent his time counting down the days to Pan's return. It wouldn't be too long now, just about three more weeks before the ship took off, four before he could talk to her again, and five before she landed. It still seemed like an eternity to him. He silently decided that he _would_ like to go and train some day soon, but only if Pan was the one to go with him.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan yelled as she woke up with a start. She looked around, unaware of where she was or how she got there. It took her a moment to recognize her surroundings. She was at Capsule Corporation, in one of the guest rooms. It was the morning after the party, after he told her… about everything.

Slowly, she made her way out of bed. Her head was pounding, probably because she had been out in the cool night air for so long the previous night. Then again, her headache might have been caused by that stupid dream. She had relived it at least five or six times that night alone, that she could recall. It has also been the cause of her waking up so aggressively. 

"If I have to go through that dream one more time…" She quietly yelled, but was interrupted by another wave of pain to her head. 

Groggily, she made walked over to the dresser where her purse was. She felt as if she had a hangover, but to her knowledge, she hadn't had any alcohol. Maybe there had been some in the punch, which she had a lot of due to boredom. She quickly shuffled through her bag and pulled out a small bottle of medicine made for headache symptoms. Without water she swallowed the pills, but she didn't care. She just needed some relief. 

After her vision cleared, and the pain started to fade, she noticed that she was still in her dress. She was actually very relieved in knowing that she didn't sleep through someone undressing her. It had been embarrassing enough to have fallen asleep in the back of a limo with Trunks and his mother. She was trying to impress Bulma to a certain degree too, and stealing her son away from an important Corporate event, then falling asleep in their limo with them probably didn't help things. She just didn't want Bulma to think of her as another one of Trunks' dumb "trophy dates" that he used only to show off at the party. Most of the women Trunks dated were trophy dates, even Pan knew that. She was just hoping that Trunks and his family would think of her as something more, even if they _would_ forget all about "Kara" in the end. 

She pulled her gym bag out of its capsule and changed clothes into some sweats. They were much more comfortable, and she wouldn't have to change out of them if she needed to sleep again. She hung her dress on a hanger and straightened her hair, just enough to make her look presentable. She took another close look in the mirror, just to make sure she didn't have any eye mucus from sleeping, or something hanging out of her nose when she met up with Trunks again. That's when she noticed the sparkling object that was still around her neck. With her headache and the drowsiness she felt, she hadn't been very observant earlier. It was the necklace he had given her. Twirling the small stone around in her fingers, she relaxed her elbows on top of the dresser and sighed… remembering.

"He loves me." She whispered to herself. "He finally loves me."

No one had ever given her a gift with so much meaning and love attached to it, with the exception of the promise ring her father had given her. It was so pretty and so expensive. The memory of the words he spoke while placing it around her neck sent a lovely wave through her. What he had said was cheesy, yes, but it was romantic. Besides, it's the thought that really counts, and she pretty sure Trunks was thinking of her and only her when he bought it. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Don't you think it's time we woke her up?" Bulma asked her son from across the kitchen table. 

"It's only eight thirty." Trunks answered as he sipped his coffee. 

"But still, what if she needs to go home or something? Doesn't she have an uncle? I'm sure he's probably very worried about her right now."

"Her and her uncle don't really get along. Besides, she's been out late with me before, and there never seemed to be any problems. Let her sleep. She had a busy night, and she was tired beforehand anyway."

Bulma shrugged and resumed reading her morning newspaper. The only sounds at the table for the moment were the occasional turning of the newspaper page, or sipping of coffee. "Well, don't you think you should put a shirt on?" Bulma asked, pointing out the fact that he was wearing socks, sweat pants and nothing else. 

"Why?"  
  


"Well, because Kara might be in here any minute and…"

"Mom, she's my girlfriend. Besides, it's not exactly considered indecent for _men_ to walk around without their shirts on. I do this all the time, so does Dad and Goten when he's over here. Why is this a big deal all of a sudden? It's what guys do."

"I know, but… never mind." Bulma said, giving up.  

Trunks shook his head in frustration and started reading his paper again. The silence and peace in the room lasted only a few moments before Bulma broke it.

"She didn't sleep in _your_ room, did she?" Bulma asked bluntly, from out of the blue.

Trunks nearly choked on his coffee. "No she…! That's none of your business!" He yelled.

"Hey, don't yell at me! I'm just checking. I'm your mother and I care about what happens to you, so sue me!"

"Butt out!"

"I said don't yell at your mother!" She shouted, "I'm just making sure that you're going to be cautious with her."

Trunks growled quietly. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with his mother. "Mom, I'm twenty-two years old. I don't need you delving into… _that aspect_ of my life."

"Honey, I'm just trying to protect our company, _and_ your feelings."

"What?! Mom!" Trunks yelled, completely aware of what Bulma had just implied. 

"Haven't you heard about those women who marry rich men just to turn around a year or so later and divorce them in order to collect alimony? Some of them purposefully get themselves pregnant, so the man will feel obligated to marry her, or give her money for support. This is the first girl you've been this serious about, and I want to make sure you know what you're getting into before we end up losing everything because of your poor character judgment. You don't know that much about Kara yet, and frankly, there are some holes in her story."

"Well, she has some things that she's hiding from me, I'm sure, but that doesn't automatically make her guilty of something, does it? And yes, Mom, I know what a gold-digger is. I've dated a lot of them. But Kara isn't just some girl after my money. Does she look or act like any of those other girls to you?"

"No, she doesn't." She admitted, walking over to her son. "But you're moving so fast with her. Just, humor me and slow it down a bit."  

"Okay." Trunks answered, desperately hoping that this conversation was over.

"Good boy." She said, giving him a kiss on the top of the head. "Oh, and one more thing…"

"What?"  
  


"It would be wise to hide the fact that she knows about the Saiyans from your father… unless you have some kind of death wish or something."

"How did you…?" He started.

"I'm a mother," She replied, stepping around the kitchen's island to get another cup of coffee, "I know everything."

"Well, you certainly know how to eavesdrop on my intimate conversations." Trunks mumbled, thankfully out of earshot. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan stood around the corner, out of view from Trunks or his mother. She had heard yelling, so she came out to investigate. She overheard the entire conversation, but she was beginning to wish that she hadn't. _'Bulma doesn't trust me yet.'_ She realized. _'This is going to be awkward. Stepping into the kitchen after spending the night at her house, when she doesn't even trust me. Urg, I need to come up with better lie… alibis to fill those holes.' _She thought as she rubbed her head. Her headache was now reappearing, and it seemed to be worse than before.

Just then, little Bra and the younger Pan walked by her, still in their pajamas. The older Pan sighed and thanked Dende that she didn't have to be the first one in there so soon after their argument. She waited before following them in, hoping they would get Bulma and Trunks focusing on something else, rather than her.

The younger Pan and Bra pulled out their chairs and sat down at the table. The younger Pan yawned and laid her head down, trying to get Trunks' attention. He glanced down at her and smiled, then returned to his newspaper.

"Good morning girls." Bulma greeted.

"Good morning, Ms. Bulma." The younger Pan replied.

"Good morning Momma." Bra yawned.

"So what did _you_ do last night?" Bulma asked.

The younger Pan and Bra said nothing, but started giggling. Immediately, Trunks suspected something of the two young terrors and lowered his newspaper, giving them a deep look of suspicion. 

"I don't think I'm going to like the reason behind why you two are giggling." He said.

It only made the girls giggle harder. From under the table, the young Pan produced a snap shot. She handed it to Trunks shyly, hoping he wouldn't get angry. Trunks held the picture up and studied it for a moment, before bursting out in hard laughter. 

"What are you looking at?" Bulma asked as she looked over Trunks' shoulder at the picture. She laughed softly, but it got harder. She couldn't believe the image of her husband in green, orange and pink hair. 

"Oh," Trunks breathed, trying to stop laughing. "What did he do to you when he noticed?"

"He didn't do anything." Bra stated proudly. 

"We told him we wouldn't show anybody if he didn't punish us." The younger Pan answered, biting her lower lip. "But he thought we made copies of it."

Trunks continued to chuckle, "You'd better keep this far away from Dad. Who knows what he'll do to you if he finds out."

"Good morning." The older Pan greeted, walking in after hearing the sound of intense laughter.

Trunks' face brightened at the sight of her walking through the door. He put the picture down on the table. The younger Pan became frustrated. He was supposed to be laughing at her picture, not talking to _Kara_. 

"Trunks look! He's drooling too!" The younger Pan said in attempt to turn his attention. 

"That's nice." He said, dismissing whatever Panny had said and walking over towards Kara.

"Good morning." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How'd you sleep?"

"Very well. Thank you… for letting me stay here."

He smiled at her softly. She gladly returned it, having trouble keeping her eyes on his face and not on his bare chest. Bra giggled in the background at the sight of her brother being so mushy with a girl. The younger Pan frowned. 

"So what was everyone laughing at?" She asked.

"Oh, just a picture of my Dad after spending a night with those two." Trunks said, handing her the snapshot.

Pan had to hold back her laughter when she saw the picture. _'I had forgotten about this.'_ She thought, swimming in and odd feeling. She remembered doing that to Vegeta, and staying over at Capsule Corporation while her parents were away, but she didn't remember Trunks going to any kind of party with a girl. _'If I think about it too much, I'm going to drive myself insane. I'm not exactly one up on temporal mechanics.'_  

"Woman!" Vegeta stated, loudly and abruptly, coming in from  "Where's breakfast?"

The older Pan quickly took the picture and stuffed it in her pocket.

"I haven't had the chance to start it yet." Bulma replied.

"How long does it take to put those stupid round waffle things in the toaster?!" Vegeta yelled.

Trunks blushed and chuckled nervously. Why did his father have to act so impossible now, in front of Kara? The older Pan didn't even notice. It was the average tone around this household, and she was used to it.

"Fine! I'll get it started!" Bulma yelled opening the freezer and dumping ten boxes of breakfast food onto the counter.

"Umm…" The older Pan intervened. "Why don't I cook breakfast for everybody, as sort of a thanks?"

"Kara, don't worry about it. You're our guest, let us serve _you_." Bulma argued, "Besides, I believe Trunks has told you how much our family eats."

Pan raised her eyebrows, she was more than a little surprised that Trunks had told his mother about last night. "Well, I can make a lot of food in a rush. Back home, I cook for a lot of people, and they usually want their food fast. I've been told that I'm a pretty good cook too… when I use my grandmother's recipes, anyway."

"Well, I don't…" Bulma started before being interrupted.

"Let the girl cook." Vegeta ordered to Bulma, surprising everyone, including the older Pan. "Her cooking can't be any worse than yours."

The older Pan wasted no time in getting started. She feigned helplessness in starting, considering it would have been weird for her to work her way around their kitchen knowing where everything was. Trunks and Bulma both argued with her, but she didn't give in. In about half an hour, she had a fully cooked meal spread out all across the table for the Briefs and her younger self to enjoy.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

'That was…amazing." Trunks said, helping Kara carry the dishes over to the counter. 

"Hmm, really?" She asked. "Well then, I'll have to cook for you again sometime."

"Kara, I only know of one other woman on this planet who cooks as well as you do." Bulma complimented.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Goten's mom. Actually, those fish omelets you made tasted an awful lot like the ones she makes. Trunks said. "Maybe your grandmother and Chichi know each other or something."

The older Pan chuckled nervously.

"Vegeta, what did you think of Kara's cooking?" Bulma asked her husband, who was making his way outside for another round of training. 

Vegeta paused for a moment, not really wanting to address his son's potential mate. "I ate it, didn't I? That's more than I could say for most of what you make."

Bulma crossed her arms and glared at the Saiyan Prince as he stepped outside.

"That's my father's way of saying he loved it." Trunks whispered into Kara's ear.

Pan giggled at the feeling of Trunks' breath tickling her. Trunks laughed lightly at her reaction as he subtly put his arms around her waist from behind. Smelling her hair was just like smelling a bouquet of flowers for him, even in the morning when she had not had the chance to shower.

The older Pan jumped as a chair was suddenly slammed down at the table. Bra and the younger Pan made their way over with their numerous plates and handed them to Kara.

"Thank you Kara! Breakfast was good!" Bra said with a cheery smile.

"It was too salty." The younger Pan said with a frown as she shoved the dishes into the interloper's hands. 

"Panny, you ate more than anyone else at the table. That wasn't a very nice thing to say to Kara, apologize." Trunks demanded.

The younger Pan's frown deepened as she crossed her arms, turned around and started heading towards the living quarters. 

"Now!" Trunks yelled.

"Sor-ry!" The younger Pan yelled sarcastically while running away, Bra following.

Trunks watched the two younger girls run out the door. "What is her problem?" He asked no one in particular as he tore himself away from Kara to start the dishes.

"I think she's jealous." Stated Bulma. "You do know that she has a crush on you, don't you?"

"No she doesn't." Trunks denied, blushing lightly. "She's just doing what she does best… being a brat. Can't we take her over to Goten's or something? She shouldn't be allowed to stay here if she's going to be rude and snotty like that. I don't need her annoying another guest. She always does this. I wish she would just… grow up."

The older Pan just stood there listening to their conversation. She was a little hurt. Sure, she pulled some pretty mean stuff on some of Trunks' girlfriends, but he always treated her nicely after everything was straightened out. He very rarely got on her case about it.

"She was just being a little girl." Pan said, speaking up and earning Trunks and Bulma's complete attention. "I need to use the bathroom." She claimed, in order to escape from under their view.

"Just being a little girl," Trunks said quietly to his mother once Kara was out of the room, "More like a little terror."

"Trunks, Kara's right. Little girls are like that. Bra annoys you all the time too."

"Yeah, but Bra doesn't try to chase my girlfriends away."

"Trunks, I told you. She has a crush on you, much like every other girl who's ever laid eyes on you. You're a handsome boy, my son, and girls like you. So do a lot of men, from what I've heard. She's just trying to keep you single until she's old enough to have you for herself." Bulma said, gently poking Trunks in the side.

Trunks had a frustrated look on his face as he washed the dinnerware. "Well, she needs to give up and realize that she's just a kid. She's too young for me."

"Trunks, let her have her crush. It'll end in a few years, and before you know it, you'll be missing the attention."

Trunks just scoffed, as a way of denying everything his mother had just said. There was no way he was going to miss the kind of attention his mother was speaking of from Pan. He would be glad when it ended.

"Trunks?" The older Pan called, poking her head in the room. "I think I'm going to go home now. Bye Ms. Bulma."

Bulma waved at Kara as she walked outside into the cooler air. Trunks ran behind her to catch up. His almost bare feet stung with the chill of the morning grass, but he didn't care.

"Kara?" He asked, stopping beside her, "Are you alright?"

Pan didn't really know what to say. Truth was, she was ready to end it. "I-I'm fine… I just have a headache."

He looked at her, concerned. "Do you need to take something?"

"No, I… I just want to go home." She answered, her face lowered.

"Well, do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" She answered too quickly. "No, I'm fine. Thanks for letting me stay here last night."

Trunks bent down to give her a goodbye kiss, but was blocked by her hand which was covering her mouth. "You do _not_ want to kiss me right now." She said, referring to her morning breath which didn't really exist. She just wanted to leave and end this charade, but she knew that any kiss from him would change her plan.  

Slowly, he pulled her hand down and away from her mouth. Once again, he leaned forward, and touched his lips with hers. It was soft at first, but he deepened it. Pan stopped resisting and wrapped her arm around his neck, allowing her other hand to sneak down and caress his bare chest. He moaned lightly at the feeling of her cold fingers traveling around his warm torso.

As the temperature rose around them, Pan felt her heart melting once again, along with her knees. Why did he have to kiss this good? Maybe playing along for a few more days couldn't hurt…

"Kara!" Bulma yelled outside, cringing as soon as she saw what she interrupted. "Oops! Sorry!"

Trunks rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration as he tore himself away from Kara's warmth. Pan chuckled at his reaction. 

"Yes Ms. Bulma?"

Bulma ran outside with Kara's dress, knowing it was too late to go back inside unnoticed, "You forgot your dress."  
  


"Don't you want to return it?" Pan asked.

"No, I've returned too many things to that store anyway. One more thing as those sorry witches who work there are going to start turning me away."

"Well, you can use it for something else… I mean, no one's seen you wear it yet."

Bulma laughed. "Me? Wear this? Yeah, maybe before I had kids and starved myself for a month, but not now. How do you manage to stay so skinny?"

"I train, but…" Pan began.

"That explains it." Bulma said, fully understanding. "It's not fair, everyone I know has natural energy, but I have to work at it. Anyway, keep the dress."

"Thanks!" Pan said. "Well, I'd better be off."

"Bye." Trunks said, receiving a small kiss on the cheek from his girl. 

"Bye."

Bulma waved as Kara took off into the crisp morning air with her dress. She headed straight for the ship, looking forward to a hot bath and some more pain medication.

"I'm sorry." Bulma apologized to her son.

Trunks shook his head in frustration and walked back inside.

"What? I said I was sorry!"

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan _did_ continue to play along. For the next couple of weeks, in fact. Things were certainly heating up between the young couple, which sort of scared Pan. There were several times when she had to pull herself away from Trunks. She never meant for things to go as far as they were going. 

They went on some sort of date almost every night, usually eating dinner and then going to see a movie. Their favorite time, however, was after the movie, when they would go for a walk. Trunks found it incredibly easy to talk to her. He had never found that in a woman before, except for maybe Marron. Kara was capturing more and more of his heart every day… but she had to leave soon. He asked her to tell him the exact day, so he could see her off, but she kept telling him that she didn't know yet. She just knew that she was leaving… soon. It got to the point where Trunks didn't want to think or talk about her not being there. Whenever he'd mention some upcoming event, like his sister's birthday, they would become quiet, realizing that Kara wouldn't be there then.

He couldn't imagine life without her. He loved her. He had most of the summer off, and he was very thankful to his mother for that. Whenever Kara could find the time to come out to the city, Trunks was always available, and waiting when she got there. He felt a joy previously unknown light up his heart at the mere sight of her. When she left, he would become.. sad. It seemed like the only thing he had to look forward to anymore was seeing her again. Everything else just… didn't matter.

Pan's headaches increased with time. They were only strong when she was around Trunks for some reason, but it was worth it. Trunks loved her, she knew that, and she had loved Trunks since…well, since she was old enough to know what love was. He was completely dedicated to pleasing her, but he respected her space. If she needed to leave, he would let her leave, but when she was there, she was almost always in his arms.

Piccolo came around occasionally to spar, but she pushed him away. She didn't want to train, she wanted to be with Trunks. Nonetheless, Piccolo showed up almost everyday asking. He argued that she needed to get used to her power, so she could learn to transform into this new form rather than Super Saiyan. This new form was much more powerful. She declined almost every time, only giving up five hours of one day to spar, and she didn't even power up all the way.

Yep, the two young adults were having a blast with each other. It was a match made in heaven… between Trunks and Kara. Pan became more like her alter-ego each day, practicing alternate histories for herself and false anecdotes that she could tell Trunks about. She never opened up about her true identity at all and therefore,  began conforming. She knew what kind of girl Trunks wanted, and she made herself up to be that girl, even if it didn't come close to her true self. Pan was crazy about Trunks, but Trunks was crazy about Kara. Deep down, Pan still knew this, but she pushed it back, justifying it to herself. After all, Kara was still Pan, just not in personality, history or name. She was still herself, just not completely…right?

So Panny continued her little game. She knew full-well that she had to leave, and soon, but she didn't let that stop her. Trunks was _her_ love now, and she was going to enjoy it.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Two weeks." She said softly.

"Two weeks?" He asked.

"Until I have to leave." She lowered her head. 

Trunks sighed sadly. Only two more weeks…

They were sitting on a picnic blanket in Capsule Corps' back yard. Everything about their environment was perfect. Trunks was sitting against a tree, Pan in his lap. He pulled back her hair, laying kissed wherever he could reach from behind. He started at her ear, then traveled down to her neck, where he stopped. Gently, he rested his head on her shoulder, wrapping his large arms around her small waist and just holding her.

She smiled, everything was perfect. The dishes from their recent meal were scattered around the picnic blanket. The sun shone vibrantly, and the birds were singing a beautiful melody. She rested her head against Trunks, using him as a pillow. 

"I love you Kara." He confessed softly. 

"I love you too." She said back, almost as soft.

Suddenly, she felt a surge of déjà vu. It was strong enough to make her think that it was more than just an after image caused by a delay in her brain. She _had_ been there before, but when? She had never been involved with Trunks or any other man like this before. She had never been held like she was being held at that moment. It all came back to her in a wave of guilt and panic. _Her dream._ Maybe her subconscious had been telling her something. Maybe that was the right moment to tell him.

Gathering all of her courage, she spoke, trying her best not to lose her nerve. "Umm… my name isn't Kara."

Trunks chuckled, "Well, what is it then?"

She intertwined her fingers with his, as if the interlocking would keep him from running away. She almost cried as she opened her mouth, but she would not allow herself to appear weak. "It's……… Keri." She exhaled sharply, ashamed for being such a coward. Her head pounded, making her want to throw up.

Trunks smiled, not knowing of the torment she was going through right then. "Keri? Hmm…" He laughed, "Keri Oakie, I like that."

"Trunks!" She protested his laughing by hitting him in the leg. "It isn't funny!"

"Well, I can see why you want to be called 'Kara'."

Great, another story she had to keep straight. Tears nearly fell from her eyes. In a very short time, this would all be over, and she would be the only one who would remember it. It was like waking from a dream so wonderful, you just _had_ to share it, but there was no one to share it with… except Piccolo. 

"Hey guys!" Goten greeted, falling down from out of the sky.

"Hi Goten." Kara greeted.

"Hey." Trunks said.

Goten scratched his head, nervous that he had interrupted something. "Umm… your mom said your weren't doing anything, so I thought I would come over and see if you wanted to spar."

"Maybe later." Trunks answered.

"Cool, give me a call." He said, getting ready to take off. 

"Wait!" Pan yelled. "I haven't gotten the chance to see either of you fight yet. Why don't you two go ahead and spar?"

Goten gulped, having no idea that she knew about their heritage or strengths. Trunks scratched his head nervously, not knowing how he was going to get himself out of this one. "Umm… but _you_ wouldn't have anything to do."

She didn't buy it. She _really_ wanted to see how weak…err… strong her two favorite friends were at that moment in time. "I _like_ watching fights. How do you think I got interested in the first place?"

Trunks' eyes were pleading with Goten. This was the perfect opportunity to show off for Kara. They could play it weak, only powering up to half their potential, never going Super Saiyan. In human terms, they would still be incredibly strong. Goten lowered himself back to the ground, shrugging. He decided he would help his friend out this time. Besides, it would give him something to do on an otherwise boring afternoon. 

"O-okay," Trunks agreed, pulling Goten away far enough so that Kara could not hear them. 

"What are we going to do?" Goten whispered to Trunks.

"Just fight, like we always do, just don't go Super."

"But…"

"She's used to sensing our overly strong ki's. She already knows we're strong."

Goten gave him an untrusting look. Something was fishy about this. But, he put himself in a defensive position, ready to start the match. Trunks nodded his head, silently thanking him. Pan stood over by the tree, trying to keep herself from laughing too loudly. 

And so the two fighters took off… very slowly. To Pan, it looked more like they were doing stretches rather then fighting, but she kept watching. Trunks hit Goten on left side of his face, causing him to lean to the right side. Trunks fell onto his hands quickly and kicked his right knee, causing Goten to trip up and fall, flat on his face. He only hit his chin lightly, but he feigned worse injury, in order to make it look like Trunks' beginner's move had caused him damage.  

Goten staggered up, still pretending to be seriously impaired by that fall. Pan just watched with her eyebrow raised. They weren't even trying, this was no fun. Her frustration deepened when she saw Goten holding his jaw and spitting, as if there was actually blood there.  

Goten countered with a _very_ lazy punch. Trunks dodged it easily, catching Goten's fist in his hand. Even if Trunks wouldn't have moved to avoid that punch, it never would have hit him. It was aimed six inches to the side of his head. Trunks kneed Goten in the stomach, causing the younger Saiyan to double over. 

Leaning down, Trunks whispered, "Don't you think you're over doing it a bit?"

"What are you talking about? That last move really hurt."

"Follow me." Trunks said, flying up into the sky just high enough to be out of Kara's range, or so they thought. 

Goten swiftly followed. "If we power up too much, she's going to suspect something. Besides, I thought you wanted to impress her by beating me up."

"I do, but not at the power level of normal humans."

"Why not? She doesn't know otherwise."

Trunks cringed. There was no way he was going to be able to hide this one. Pan stood looking up. She didn't know what they were saying, but it was probably nothing important. She _was_ bored now. She thought she was going to actually see some action. There had to be a way to get them to fight for real…

"Goten," Trunks started, nervously, "I don't know how to tell you this, but…"

"Hey! Stop stalling around!" Pan yelled, "When am I going to be able to see what a Super Saiyan can _really_ do?"

Goten's mouth flew open. He looked from the ground to Trunks then to the ground again. Trunks just chuckled nervously and gave a goofy grin, while a sweat drop made its way down his face. Goten's expression went from confused to shocked to angry in a second flat as his brain processed the information. 

"Umm… Goten…" Trunks started, but was interrupted by a hard hit to his stomach by the now transformed Goten. 

Trunks quickly transformed too, and hit Goten in the face. There was actual blood being drawn now. It was dripping from Goten's lip.

Pan smiled, _'Well **that** worked.' _She thought.

"How could you tell her?!?" Goten yelled. 

"I…" Trunks tried to explain. 

Goten kicked him in the face. Trunks' head promptly jerked back due to the impact. As his whole body went backwards, Goten flew back and was there to elbow him in the face, and send him speeding towards the earth. Trunks recovered before he hit and gracefully landed on his feet. He took off again, to meet Goten in the air. They both went into a frenzy and threw punches and kicks faster than the normal human's eye could see. They were taking up a lot of air space too, causing their entire bodies to disappear.  

Pan was watching intently. They were pretty strong for how old they were. Of course, this was before the time when Trunks' life had become consumed by work. 

Vegeta walked out into the back yard after sensing the raised energy. It was rare that his son and that spawn of Kakarott ever did any _actual_ training. They usually just dinked around whenever they were too bored to do anything else. 

The little Pan came out too, and watched in amazement as the two men battled in the sky. She could keep track of them, but there were a few times when they went too fast for her to see. Vegeta looked over at her. Her eyes were glued to the sky, interpreting, studying what move was being done, and which was the most effective. He smirked. The young girl was more of a Saiyan than the two men up in the sky were, she just didn't know it yet. It's too bad such a potentially valuable warrior had to be polluted with that third class idiot's blood. 

Then, Vegeta spotted someone. It was that girl, what's-her-face who was interested in his son. She was watching too. _'But why would they transform if they knew she was here?'_ He asked himself. He watched her more closely. Her eyes were keeping up with them, she knew everywhere they went. _'But how?'_ Surely they were moving too fast for her to see, and yet, she _could_ see… everything.

They continued to fight very aggressively. Both of them a had sweat and blood dripping off of them as they flew through the air. Trunks sent and uppercut directly into Goten's chin. Goten snapped back and flipped mid-air, then came back around to kick Trunks on the side of the head. Trunks flew around and elbowed Goten in the back, then kneed him in the stomach. Goten span around and kick Trunks in the stomach, sending him towards the earth once more. 

Vegeta continued to watch as the two men seemingly free fell out of the sky, right for where Kara was standing. He made no effort to stop them, or to guard her, but he watched, with curiosity, wondering if she could even see what was coming towards her. She _was_ looking up, but she wasn't moving out of the way. 

They fell and they fell until they were practically on top of her… when they stopped. They only paused for a moment, but it was long enough for them to slow down enough to come into view. The girl still didn't move. It was as if she had not only watched them fall out of the sky, but had read their ki as well, enabling her to anticipate their stopping. They were so close, that the force of the wind around their bodies had actually stirred her hair and clothes, and yet she remained there, perfectly calm, just observing.    

The younger Pan was still watching. She had seen Kara as well and was annoyed. Why did Trunks have to show off for her? Before Kara, her, Trunks and Goten would have a lot of fun sparring together. They were only trying to impress her, but she wasn't worth it. Little Pan itched to join the spar.

"You're… taking this too far!" Trunks yelled as he strained to hold Goten back in a head lock.

"You're the one… who… told her about the Saiyans. You're putting our families lives at risk!" Goten replied as he tried to break free from Trunks' grasp.

"I trust her!" 

"I don't care!" Goten got free off his head lock and kicked Trunks hard in the back. 

Trunks hadn't been expecting it and the impact threw him, once again, directly towards the ground. This time, he didn't recover. He hit, causing as small crater. Immediately, he stood up and got back into a defensive stand. Goten looked down, studying Trunks' surroundings. He was standing on the edge of the grassy part, right next to a thick cover of trees that had been planted for privacy reasons years ago. It was almost like a small forest. If he threw a ki blast, he could concentrate it into a small stream and, therefore, not damaging the mansion or the trees. The trees would prevent any of the neighbors from seeing too much of it. The worst damage it could do would be another crater and a bad burn mark for Trunks, but it would be a burn he deserved for exposing their family's secret.

Goten lifted his hands out in front of him, then pulled them back to his side. His palms were together, faced outward as he began to gather his energy for his small, yet powerful attack. Trunks looked up from the ground. A Vegeta-like smirk traced his lips as he sensed what was going on. He knew what Goten was up to, and was more than prepared to face it head-on. He knew that Goten would never throw a blast that he couldn't block, so he stood his ground, awaiting his challenge. 

The younger Pan gazed at Trunks who was across the yard on the ground. She knew what she could do. Right then would be the perfect time to attack Trunks, while he was paying attention to Goten. If she joined the fight now, then Kara would see how much fun Trunks had with her. Then, she might get jealous and get mad like some of the other girls, or she would just give up and go away, leaving her and Trunks to play together. Without the notice of Vegeta, the little Pan took off towards Trunks. 

Without a verbal command, Goten threw his attack. It was small enough to consume Trunks, but not much else. However, it was still very strong too. Trunks' smirk widened as he crossed his arms in front of his face, preparing for the attack. 

The little Pan was just about to where Trunks stood. She was so consumed with planning her sneak attack, that she didn't see the blast coming. The older Pan felt a rush of fear and panic as she noticed the small figure heading directly towards the path. Logic had no time to work its way in, for her younger self was going to be seriously injured if she didn't do something. She wasn't that powerful yet, and with her small frame, the blast would swallow her up. 

The younger Pan got to Trunks before her older version could pull her away. The little girl hit Trunks out of the way and landed before she looked up, finally noticing the blast. It was too late to run, it was even too late to put her guard up, and all she could do was stand there. 

The stream of energy was too close for the older Pan as well. She rushed in under the beam and embraced her younger self, covering the little Pan's body with her own. Energy flowed around them as the older Pan tried desperately to power up, but failed to do it right. She was preventing herself from transforming in front of them, therefore holding back too much power.  

Goten looked down proudly as he ended the blast. He pride was quickly diminished when he saw Kara's figure instead of Trunks'. Trunks looked up in shock, he knew he had been knocked out of the way, but he didn't know what else had happed, until he opened his eyes. Kara was curled up in a ball, protecting Pan. But how did Pan get there?

"Ah! Kara!" Goten yelled as he quickly zoomed down to her.

"Oh no." Trunks said. "Kara, are you okay?"

The little Pan opened her eyes and found herself underneath Kara. The blast hadn't hit her but Kara instead. Quickly, Panny scrambled out from under her shield, "I could have blocked it." The younger Pan said, looking on with shock and fear.

 The older Pan whimpered as she fell forward due to the sudden lack of support. She felt a stinging pain on her back as she realized how strong that blast really was. "I'm fine." She groaned. 

Trunks quickly examined her for injuries. She wasn't fatally wounded or immobilized, but she was badly burned on her back. "Kara! Oh gosh, what happened?"

The older Pan laughed, "I just… got in the way of the blast."

Trunks quickly shot a death glare at the young Pan, who he knew was the real cause. The younger Pan backed away, a guilty look on her face. Kara tried to stand up, but quickly collapsed again. Vegeta rushed over, in moment of uncharacteristic kindness, and help his son carry her in. 

"Let's get her to the infirmary." Vegeta ordered. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Wow, Goten really did a number on you." Bulma said as she moved the tissue regenerator over Kara's burn. Trunks was digging through his gym bag in the corner, trying to find where he put the senzu beans. 

"I'm okay." Kara mumbled into the table she was lying face down on. 

"No you're not." Goten guiltily said. "I'm sorry Kara, I didn't see you there."  
  


"You didn't do anything wrong." Kara said. 

"Yeah, it wasn't _your_ fault." Trunks added angrily as he glared at the sad looking little girl who was also in the room getting checked out for injury.

"I could have blocked it." The young Pan softly and sadly argued. "I could've…"

"No you couldn't have!" Trunks yelled. "If Kara hadn't of been there, you could have died, or gotten seriously hurt! And did I hear even so much as a thanks?! No! All you keep saying is that you could've blocked it." 

Little Pan looked down at her feet as tears made their way down her cheeks. She was trying not to cry, but she was embarrassed, and now Trunks was yelling at her. "I didn't mean to…"

"How could you have been so stupid?!" He yelled. " I can't believe you were so careless as to jump under a ki blast like that! From now on… when you know Goten and I are sparring, don't come anywhere near us! Don't even watch!"

Panny looked up at Trunks, a steady stream of salty water now flowing out of her eyes. "But what if I want to spar…"

"No! Not now! And after the carelessness you've shown today, don't count on sparring with either of us for a while!"

The little Pan tried to argue, but all that came out was a sob. She ran out of the room, freely crying her eyes out, she ran upstairs and locked herself in one of the bedrooms. 

"Panny, get back here!" Bulma yelled to no avail. She turned and glared at her son.

"Don't look a me like that. She could've gotten herself or Kara killed."

The older Pan was grateful to be lying face down. She was struggling to keep her own tears down. She could almost feel the pain and torment that her younger self was going through. It was no small thing when Trunks yelled at her. Especially when it involved damaging her pride as much as it had. 

"Boy." Vegeta called from the door of the infirmary.

Trunks tossed Kara a senzu then went to his father. Goten followed, not wanting to be in the room while Trunks' girlfriend was lying half naked on a table in front of him. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,  

"What were you thinking?!" Vegeta yelled, while supposedly out of earshot from the infirmary. 

"About what?" Trunks asked.

"Transforming in front of the girl like that!"

"She…" Trunks was about to argue.

"What?!"  
  


"She already knows about us, I told her."

Vegeta stood there with the look of death on his face. "And you're yelling at the _younger girl_ for being stupid?! I don't want you mating with her!"

Trunks threw his hands up in frustration. "How is that any of your business?!"

"She's hiding something. She has a strong ki that she's been suppressing since the moment she got here. She's keeping it from us, and I fear it's for the sole purpose of gaining our trust so she can manipulate it somehow." Vegeta argued.

"That's ridiculous!" Trunks yelled while looking at Goten, hoping for some support.

"Actually, I-I kind of agree with Vegeta. There's something about her that's different. I noticed from the day I met her that there was something weird behind her eyes. Her story hasn't matched up at all, and she only gives you information about herself when you ask for it, she never gives it away. Have you ever actually met her uncle? He's supposed to be this incredibly strong man, and yet none of us have ever sensed him before. You don't even know where she lives."

Trunks sighed in frustration, feeling a little ganged up on. "I trust her, and that's all that matters."

"You keep that in mind if she ever tries to destroy you." Vegeta warned, walking away.

Goten excused himself, feeling awkward, and went back home. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan finished putting her shirt on, she was grateful that Bulma had left the room, so she wouldn't see her cry. Her alibi was sinking and people were becoming more than a little suspicious. No one trusted her anymore, and the last thing she wanted was for someone to act on their suspicions. It was time to leave.

Hoping against hope that she would not run into anyone, she took the back way out. However, Trunks saw her and followed her. He grabbed her arm before she could take off and spun her around. 

"Kara, where are you going?" He asked.

Pan searched for a lie in her head. "I…I… forgot that my uncle needed me home this afternoon, I have to go."

Trunks searched her eyes before responding. Had she been crying? Her face was flushed and her eyes were glassy.  "Oh," He simply said, very disappointedly. Was she blowing him off?

"I'll be back." She said. _'To make you forget me.'_

"Okay." Trunks said, feeling a little better. "Maybe we could go out to dinner?"

"Maybe." She said with a small smile.

He leaned down to kiss her, but she pulled back. Without saying anything more, she took off into the sky.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan landed back at her ship and collapsed in tears. She didn't spend much time sulking though. With great speed, she prepared. She got two vials of the memory spray and put one in her pocket and the other in her purse, just incase one was broken. Then, she showered and changed clothes.

Looking in the mirror, she readied herself. It wasn't a physical preparation, it was an emotional and mental one. For she had to get ready… to end this beautiful dream.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks gazed down at blue box in his hands. Had she heard him argue with his father? She had to know that  was only his father's fears, they weren't his. He trusted her, he loved her, that was all that mattered. Who cared about his family or friends? She wasn't dating them, she was dating him. He wanted her to know that, and her would tell her that night. Tonight he would do something drastic. If she couldn't stay here with her boyfriend… then maybe she could stay here… with her husband.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

*Smiles sheepishly * So? What did you think? It has to be my longest one yet. The next one won't be nearly as long. I hope. I have to apologize for the fight scenes. I commend anyone who has been able to write action well. It's hard!

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 


	11. Chapter 12

**Title:** Waiting (Chapter 12)      

**Author:** The Noseless Wonder            

**Disclaimer:** Blah blah blah blah blah don't own Dragonball Z/GT blah blah characters blah blah blah Akira Toriyama blah blah blah blah blah blah omelette du fromage. Got that? Good. Oh, I do not own the "True Love Waits" program either. Nor did I plan on their name fitting in so well with this fic.^_^ DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK UNTIL YOU HAVE HAD THE CHANCE TO READ THE STORY, AND 'AUTHOR'S NOTE #1' ON THE BOTTOM! You have been warned.  

**Author's Notes:** Sorry it took so long to get this out. As you can see, it's another long chapter. Plus, the holidays and a pretty severe bout of sickness slowed me down. One more thing, (I just love to babble =) This is not the last chapter, and therefore, not the end of the story, so hang in there. It's getting close, though.        

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

A chilled wind blew through the street, causing him to shiver. Nervousness was more the cause of his body's reaction, however. He powered up slightly, knowing that his ki would keep him warm, although the breeze was almost contesting his power. It seemed like the wind increased along with his energy level.

He looked up. The now starry sky was beginning to cloud over. There was a storm coming, and it looked like a big one. There was no rain yet though, and he preferred walking to flying right then. He needed to think. Giving in after another freezing gust flew by, he threw a Capsule on the ground, which exploded into a suitcase in front of him. He dug through it, disappointed to find that there was only one coat, that ugly tan one that went down below his butt. He growled lightly as he put it on. The thing was uncomfortable and way out of style, but at least it was warm. 

Trunks continued to make his way down the street. Which street was it? Who knew? Who cared? Not him. He was lost in more than just his thoughts. It wouldn't be too hard to find his way, he could just fly towards his father's ki and get home easily enough. That is, if he wanted to get home. Right now, he couldn't care less if he walked around to the other side of the world. He was too consumed with the small box in his hands to perceive anything in his environment. In fact, if his father were to land right in front of him with a giant 'M' on his forehead, he probably wouldn't even notice, let alone give a rip.

His mind was on his love. His brain and his heart were having a massive battle over the little blue box in his hands. Anyone else would have been crazy to carry a large diamond ring alone at night in the city, but of course, Trunks had nothing to worry about. He couldn't stop staring at the large stone set in white gold. It seemed to reflect every ounce of light that shone on it, which gave him hope; hope that her eyes would sparkle with joy, outdoing the brilliance of the ring that would soon be on her finger, hope that she would stay with him forever, even if it meant moving away from her family, hope that _he_ would become her family, and that they would have one of their own.

Images, imaginings of the present and the future raced through his mind, her smile, her eyes, their wedding, the birth of their first child, he or she would be so beautiful. He smiled, thinking of more babies, lots of babies that would fill their house with loud noises and toys, spilled cereal everywhere and the smell of a newborn drifting through every door. Each one of their children would carry with him/her the look of their mother's face, forcing him to think of her every time he looked at them. He never really considered having children of his own, at least, not for a while, but these thoughts… made him look forward to it. Having children was _not_ something the average CEO-to-be looked forward to, but if it was with _her_, he couldn't wait.

Their maybe-future life together continued to haunt his every thought. He even started imagining her with grayed hair, wrinkled skin and false teeth. She looked incredible, even at age eighty. At least, the way he imagined her, she did. Good Dende, he was even looking forward to their future arguments. Sleeping on the couch one night, only to be thrown into bed the next… it seemed like heaven. A heated argument turned romantic rendezvous, that's how it was with his parents a lot, due to the fact that their personalities were both so strong, stubborn and yet… passionate at the same time. Was he doomed to live out the same sweet torture over and over again with Kara? He certainly hoped so. 

He closed his eyes, trying to remember the fresh warmth of her face… and her lips. Sure, he had been in many battles, and felt pain so intense, it was difficult to describe, but to live the rest of his life without waking up to her smile and her beauty, that would be _true_ pain. It would be the kind of pain that leaves you feeling empty, cold and alone. He wanted… almost _needed_ to know that her smile was going to be with him forever.

He looked up at the sky again, focusing his ki downwards in preparation to take off. His eyes staring into the hazy heaven above him, he saw her face once more. However, this time, she wasn't smiling. Reason was beginning to set in with him. The last time he saw her, her face was sad and pained. It was a look that was intense enough to break his heart, even though he didn't know what she was feeling that way.

The scene replayed in his mind. He stroked her cheek tenderly, wondering why she looked like she had been crying. Her eyes were not shiny and bright like they had been since the very moment her first saw her, they were dull and reddened by tears that she had tried to hide, but was unsuccessful in doing so. He leaned down, foolishly thinking that kissing her would affirm his love and therefore, cheer her up. He could already taste her as he leaned down further, not expecting her to back away, like she had. And so, he watched with confusion, as she took off into the air, a hurt look on her face. 

"Am I insane?" He asked himself, watching the ring glittering in the light of the streetlamps. "We've only known each other for a little over a month, and all this time she's said she wanted to take it slow. This _isn't_ slow. I'm asking her for a lifetime, not another week or month."

He continued to walk… and think. What if she was planning on breaking it off that night, and here he was with an engagement ring? He didn't want to scare her off, he didn't want her to leave, period, but the two of them could make a good life together, and he knew it. The last thing he wanted was for her to leave without him getting the chance to really talk to her about all this. He had to know if she heard his father talking about her or not. The way she had been acting, it appeared as if she did. No wonder she looked so hurt. It looked like no one in his family trusted her. That was bound to hurt her feelings a little. 

_He_ trusted her though. There was no reason for him not to. Well, she had been a little dishonest about a few things. For one, her uncle. She made him sound incredibly strong, and yet no one had ever heard of him. He always wanted her back by certain times, but not everyday, and Kara never told Trunks exactly _why_ he wanted her back. Then, there was her ki. She was a lot stronger than any full human on earth, but not one of the Z fighters had ever sensed her before. 

Those weren't the only strange things about her story, though. She had told Trunks about her past more than once, and every time she did, something would change. First, her story was that she and her family were visiting, then after a while, she said it was only her. She had told him before that she lived somewhere far away, but she never went into any more detail. Then, a little while later, she had said that she lived closer by, but she went to school further away. Eventually, she just said that her family lived far away, near her school, but she considered her uncle's house to be a second home. Things didn't make sense with her story. But, Trunks had convinced himself that she was entitled to her privacy, and therefore, he shouldn't ask too many questions. 

Then, there was the afternoon they spent at Capsule Corporation working. She seemed to know almost everything about his office, including their filing system. _'But that doesn't mean anything… does it?'_  Trunks asked himself.

He shrugged it off once more, switching his mind to another subject. Should he or shouldn't he give her that ring? He wanted her so badly, but things were going fast. He would just have to wait. Maybe he'd have a better idea after he talked to her about it.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 

Pan stood there, in front of the familiar building she loved so much. She had been simply staring at it for a while. How long, she wasn't sure. It appeared as if she was studying it. She ran her fingers up and down the bricks, tracing the molding that held them together, but her mind was somewhere far from building materials. This… thing with her and Trunks, could turn out several different ways. She could've inadvertently created another timeline already, simply by going to get ice cream that one fateful day… the day "Kara" was born.

There were so many variables, so many things that could have been changed due to her carelessness. Alternate realities and time travel were funny things. No one knew for sure how they worked. The only ones who knew absolutely that they existed were a few higher-up, trusted scientists over at Capsule. Even Pan was unsure of why or how they had definite evidence of there being such a thing as alternate realities. She never really got the whole story. All she knew was that someone once came from the future to talk to her grandfather. The rest of the story was never really revealed to her.     

One thing _was_ for sure, though. No matter what "reality" or timeline she would go back to, she would never look at that building the same way. The white dome of CC, her second home, would mean something different, and painful to her. Things would change between her and Trunks when she got back, it was too late to prevent it. He would remain the same, unchanging from the day she left. She, on the other hand, would have trouble even looking him in the eye. This adventure, would simply be an awful, yet sweet memory she would keep to herself for the rest of her life.

For her, this relationship would be an experience and love she would keep in her heart forever, but for Trunks, it would simply be an unexplained pain that he might notice in her eyes sometime. If things got too bad, if it got to the point where Pan would prefer not to see Trunks at all, rather than see him with other women, than maybe, just maybe she would tell him this story.

She smiled a sad smile. Thoughts and emotions ran through her head faster than she could process them. She would never forget his touches and kisses. The way he looked at her when he wanted her, the way he would subtly sneak his arm around her so he could pull her close, the way he would play with her fingers, and the tone of his voice when he told her he loved her, they would all be distant memories in a few short hours. She would never again get to experience them for herself, but would be forced to watch him do that with other women. She could feel herself dying inside already from the inevitable pain that was to come from simply watching him with other girls… girls that had much more of a chance with him, girls that were his age, and much more beautiful than she was.

"Are you going to go inside, or are you just going to sit there and stare at it?" Vegeta asked from behind. He had sensed her ki while training, and came out to investigate.

Pan jumped lightly, startled at Vegeta's sudden presence. Pan put on a calm, nonchalant façade before turning to face him. "Hello, Mr. Vegeta. I was just… wanting to see if Trunks was home so we could go out to dinner."

"The boy isn't here." He sternly replied, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel that had been around his neck. "He's further down in the city, four and a half miles West of here."

"Okay, thank you." Pan said, quickly turning around and walking away, hoping to get out of that situation.

"Girl…"Vegeta called, making Pan stop dead in her tracks. "If you're hiding something, you'd better come clean soon or break it off with the boy. I don't trust you, and I'd prefer if you'd stay away from the brat."

She wanted to stay and argue, to let Mr. Prince-of-all-Saiyans know she wasn't afraid of him, but there was no reason to. It would only be wasted energy. Plus, this was the first time she had seen Vegeta act so… protective of his son. "You don't have to worry. It was over anyway." She admitted quietly, water building up in her eyes.

Vegeta made a noise in his throat and walked inside. His pride in himself was more than evident. Pan turned around and took off. Tears nearly snuck down her face unguarded, but she would not allow herself to become even weaker emotionally about this than she already was. 

_'Crap!'_ She cursed herself, remembering the need to administer her memory formula to Vegeta and Bulma. _'Oh well, I'll get them on my way back.'_   

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan flew over the city looking for Trunks. Her mind was working overtime, causing her to relive a million flashbacks. They were memories of happier times, bad times and self doubts. She was so distracted, that it took her a while to find him. He was walking along a dark street, in the middle of a neighborhood somewhere in the outskirts of the city. What was he doing there?

Immediately, she lowered her ki so that he couldn't detect her. She hovered high up and away from him, silently watching him for just a moment. Taking a deep breath, she took the spray can and vial out of her purse, and then connected them. She even sprayed once in the air, just to make sure that it was going to hit its target the first time.

Slowly, she lowered herself down in front of him. He was so busy thinking of what to say to her, he didn't look up until he was about to run into her.

"Kara? What are you doing here?" He asked, more than surprised to see her so early, especially after the way she had left him that morning.

"I went to your house, but your father said you were walking around. So, I decided to come find you." She said quietly.

Her eyes drifted down to the box he held in his hands. A ring? Alarms immediately went off in her brain. _'And here I though he was rushing it when he kissed me! What is he thinking?!'_

Trunks noticed she seemed to be staring at something. He followed her gaze down to his hands. Using the speed that all Super Saiyans were known for, he stuffed the ring out of her sight and into his back pocket, but not without a deep blush appearing over his nose and cheeks. It was obvious that she had seen it. Oh well, so it wouldn't be so much of a surprise, but maybe it could serve as an ice breaker.

She chuckled lightly, hoping to rid herself of some of the nervousness that was invading her. An uncomfortable silence spread between them. She knew she should just come right out and tell him, or spray him. It would alleviate this awkwardness, that's for sure.

Trunks looked at the ground, desperately searching for something appropriate to say in a situation like this. With her seeing the ring, she was sure to have something to say… or yell at him. Oh well, might as well be a man and just ask her. Then was as good a time as any, or so he'd like to believe.

"Trunks…"

"Kara, I…" They spoke at the same time, causing the red on their faces to increase and grow deeper.

"You go first." Trunks said, thankful that she was had something to say too.

"No, you." She said, still trying to gather up her courage for the inevitable moment ahead.

"Kara, I…" He trailed off, looking deep in her eyes. She looked sad again, but why? Now was definitely not a good time to pop the question. "Why don't we go grab some dinner and talk?"

"That's a good idea." She agreed, hoping food would get rid of the tension.

They took off into the night sky. Trunks led her to one of his favorite restaurants, which was known for its high quality service, and tables that were private and concealed by paper walls. Pan argued, she didn't want him to have to pay too much for their meal, and she was really hungry. Nevertheless, Trunks insisted. They landed in the alleyway and went inside. Trunks was treated with the utmost respect there. They were given a large table, and many comfortable cushions to sit on.

When the waitress came by, they ordered their food. Trunks ordered his normal, large amount, and Pan ordered the same. Why even bother concealing anything anymore? The waiter and Trunks both had the same looks on their faces. How could she eat that much?

"Do you know how much food that is?" Trunks asked, temporarily forgetting the fact that it was rude to question a woman's eating habits, especially so abruptly, like he had.

She looked up at him. For a moment, he could have promised that she was wearing a scowl. "I'm hungry." She simply, yet firmly replied.

He was taken aback by the amount of food she had just ordered, but he silently wondered how much of it she was actually going to eat. After all, she had ordered the same amount as himself, and he had ordered enough to fill his Saiyan stomach. Thinking it wise to drop the subject, he decided it was time for a change of topic, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier today."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the whole, Goten almost killing you ordeal, and then my dad yelling at me for telling you about our heritage. Honestly, he gets overly suspicious about people sometimes." Trunks lied. Truthfully, this was the first one of Trunks' girlfriends that Vegeta distrusted so much. Normally, he couldn't care less about his son's affairs.

"It's not that big of a deal Trunks, I survived it and I'm better now." She said.

"I know, and I'm glad. I didn't know you were that strong." He said.

She smiled softly as he reached across the table and took her hand in his. Her smile got wider as he started playing with her fingers. Why was that so charming?

_'So… I finally got her to smile again.' _He said softly.

"I have a good trainer." She said. 

"Well, next time you're over at my place and Panny is there, remind me to make her apologize to you."

"She doesn't need to apologize." Pan said, quickly taking her hand out of his and putting it back under the table. Her expression dropped to one of soft anger and sadness. 

Trunks watched her in confusion. Was it something with Pan? What was making Kara react this way? "Yeah, she does." He answered. "She endangered your life. She knows better than to jump underneath a ki blast like that. She could've been killed if you wouldn't have seen her and rescued her."

"Panny was just being a kid. Kids make stupid mistakes, it's how they learn. She's only eight, give her a break."

"How did you know she was eight?" Trunks asked, receiving only a nervous look from the woman across the table. "Never mind. The point is, she's an irresponsible brat, and if she keeps rushing into things like that, she's going to end up getting killed. She needs to learn her lesson."

"Trunks, she just wanted to join you in your spar with Goten. She's a Saiyan, did you think she was just going to stay there and simply watch you two have fun? She loves to fight. It's in her blood."

Trunks was utterly confused. Kara was speaking like she knew everything about the Saiyans. True, he had told her most of the important parts about his alien ancestry, but he hadn't gone into that much detail. She was sounding like she had known them all of her life. "It doesn't matter if she loves to fight. She did something wrong, she should be punished for it. That's why I told her she wasn't allowed to spar with me or Goten."

"You're not her father. Leave the punishment to her parents!" Pan said loudly, nearly yelling

Trunks put his drink down hard and loud on the table, and looked up at Kara, obviously ticked off. "Maybe not, but I'm responsible for her. She comes over to my house so much, you might get the impression that she doesn't _have_ any parents. She always comes over when I have the place to myself, even when Bra isn't there. She's like the annoying little next door neighbor you can't get rid of. If I wasn't such good friends with her father and uncle, I would tell her to get lost."

"That's not true. Don't you care about her?!" Pan asked, her voice raising. How could he say something like that?

"Sometimes, but I don't get why she bothers me so much and…"

"Of course, she's going to bother you!" She shouted. "Do you honestly think she goes over there to be with Bra?! You two act the same and like the same things! You're her friend too and she lo… cares about you!" 

Trunks was surprised at Kara's outburst, but more angry. "You don't know her! You don't know how she can be sometimes!"

"Yes I do! At least enough to…"

"How?" He asked. 

"I…!" She began, but stopped.

"How?!" He yelled at not getting a response.

"I…I…don't think I'm very hungry anymore." She said, getting up and walking out the door.

Trunks quickly stood up and grabbed her arm. "Kara wait… please." 

"What?" She asked quietly, but sternly.    

"I'm sorry." He said, taking her arm and pulling her closer. "I don't know exactly what for, but I'm sorry I yelled. It's just been a… a weird day."

She looked up into his eyes. They were filled with great adoration for her, but was it really love, like he said it was? He didn't seem to be that fond of her younger version, so how could he care for her older version that much? 

"Trunks, I… I just think it would be better if I left here now. That way, there would be no long goodbyes. It's best if I just leave tonight, right now." A silent, unguarded tear rolled down her cheek. She was showing her weakness to him, she knew it.

He pulled her even closer, gently wiping off the tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Kara, please… stay with me for a little longer. You know… I want you to stay with me forever." He hinted.

Some more tears worked their way down her cheeks, only to be shooed away by the warm skin of Trunks' hand. "Trunks, I can't, I…"  
  


"If…" He interrupted, "you can only stay with me for a few more days, then please, stay with me. Don't let it end like this." 

She really needed to walk out that door. At this point, she really _wanted_ to walk out that door, but she couldn't run away from her problems again. That's all she had done since she got there. At the club, when he kissed her at Capsule Corps, at the ball, when she had heard Vegeta yell at Trunks, she had always chosen to run out the door, but not now. Now, she knew she had to turn and face her fear, the moment she had been dreading since he sat down across from her at "Sloshy's". 

"Trunks, there's something I need to tell you." She said as she pulled out the spray can from her purse. She let out a frustrated cry when Trunks yanked it from her hand. 

"What is this?" He asked. "This looks like one of the formulas our scientists have been working on at Capsule Corp."

He turned the spray can around many times in his hand. He couldn't recall what the recipe was for. He remembered that it involved memory, but he couldn't place where he had seen the container. He only knew one thing. That aerosol had the "CC" logo on it, and it had never been released to the public. It was solely used for the purposes of the research scientists at Capsule Corp. "H-how did you get this?"

Pan took the aerosol back. She wanted him to know everything before he forgot. "Trunks, I'm not exactly…"

"Here you go Mr. Briefs! It was prepared fresh and speedy just for you and your lady friend!" The waitress practically sang as other servers brought in tray after tray of food.   

The servers put the food on the table. There were two of almost everything on the menu, and it took up most of their eating space. Pan took one look at it and her stomach growled… almost as loud as Trunks' did.

"Why don't we eat? Then we can go for a walk or something." Trunks suggested.

Pan really wanted to decline, but her stomach was making a convincing argument against it. Well, it wouldn't hurt to wait until _after_ dinner. "Good idea." She said, seemingly forgetting their recent quarrel and sitting down at her placing.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Dinner went silently. Trunks started out eating slowly. He was always told by his mother that it was impolite to eat like a Saiyan when he was in human company. Kara, on the other hand, was eating faster than he could, even if he _was_ eating at his normal speed. Funny, even though she was pigging out, he couldn't help but stare at her. No, not because she was shoving inhuman amounts of food into her face faster than he could see, but because she was so beautiful. The dim lights above them seem to be dancing off of her eyes, her hair shone like spun silk. Dende, why couldn't she stay with him? 

Pan finished eating quickly. She noticed that Trunks hadn't eaten much. Was it because of her consumption pace, or because of the little box in his pocket? She wasn't going to hide anything now, it wasn't worth it. She was hungry, and this would probably be the last meal she ate before she got back on the ship to go home. 

After paying the bill, they walked outdoors. The night air still carried a chill with it. It was apparent that the  summer was about to end, and it looked like fall was already making its yearly debut. The sky was completely clouded over now. There wasn't a star in the sky. The sensitive natures of the two Saiyans enabled them to tell that the pressure was dropping. Meaning, the storm was drawing nearer. 

They walked slowly, as always, never really heading in any direction. They were just… walking. Normally, they would be talking up a storm by now, but of course, tonight was different. Pan shivered lightly as a cool breeze blew by. 

"So, what are you going to do when you get home?" Trunks asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, if I know my grandmother, they'll probably throw me some kind of welcome home party." She answered.

"I meant long term." 

"I know, but that's the furthest into the future I'm able to plan. I really don't know what I'm going to do." 

Her tone was almost solemn to Trunks. He couldn't say he wasn't relieved though. At least it gave him a hint that she didn't want to go home. "So, why can't you ever come back?"  
  


"It's very complicated."

Trunks stopped walking. Pan turned back, realizing that he was no longer by her side. "Are you married or something?" He blurted out

"No." She laughed. "Nothing like that."

"Do you have kids?" He asked, "Kids love me. I can get along with kids. Just… don't use Panny as an example."

"No, Trunks. I don't have any kids. It's just me, my parents, grandparents, uncle and brother."

Trunks looked downward. The fact that she wasn't married or anything almost made him feel worse. Why couldn't she just tell him what she was hiding?

"And we have these friends…" She added, "they're almost as good as family."

"Then why do you have to leave?" He asked, determined to get a plausible answer out of her. 

She shook her head and looked at the ground. "Trunks…"

He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Have you ever loved someone as much as I love you?"

She bit her lip and tried to resist the temptation to fall into his arms. "No." She answered, looking him straight in the eye. "But there is a guy…, well, at least there was."

"There was?" Trunks asked, getting jealous at the mention of this unseen man who had also managed to capture the heart of such beauty.

"I don't think it would ever work out between us though." She said quietly, in thought.

"Why not?" He asked, sort of relieved, but still jealous. 

"I loved him from the moment I was born. My parents even tell about the times when he seemed to be the only one who could make me stop crying when I was an infant. As time went on, my affection for him grew. But, I'm sure he only saw me as a little sister. I'm a lot younger than he is, and I have the feeling he's only thought of me as an extra burden he's had to put up with, and a source of income in his teens. Now that he's stopped babysitting me, he really doesn't have any use for me anymore. I thought we grew to be good friends, I even considered him to be my best friend through all these years, but now… I'm getting the idea that I annoy him."   

"How could you possibly annoy anyone?" He asked.

She chuckled lightly, "You'd be surprised." She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder, just to feel one more embrace with him.

"He's a fool for rejecting you, an idiot who must not be able to see past his own nose."

She laughed loudly, still embracing him. He cocked his head and smiled lightly as he looked down at her. He was unable to see the humor in that statement, but she obviously thought it was funny. 

"So you don't think age is a problem?"

"I think it _is_ if you're talking about getting together with that jerk…" She looked up at him, a questioning look on her face. "…because _I_ want you. He's already missed his chance." 

He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her lips. _'Last kiss.'_ She thought, shivering at the feeling of his warm lips on her cold ones.

"Hmm… you feel cold." He said, breaking his mouth away from the wonderful delight of hers. "Do you want my coat?"

She smiled and ran her hands down the light brown fabric. As she felt the material, she quickly relived every memory she had of that jacket. 

"I know…it's ugly, but…"

"No it's not." She told him, silently laughing at the fact that this was coming from the same man who once wore it for a year straight without ever changing. "I like it."

"You do? Then maybe I'll wear it more often." He took it off and wrapped it around her shoulders. He silently hoped it would retain her scent. 

"So what were you going to tell me back at the restaurant?"

She reached back into her purse, searching for the spray can. She stopped when she felt something wet hit her head. 

"It's sprinkling rain." He said.

"Maybe it'll stop."

They stood in silence for only a few seconds, watching as the light sprinkle turned into a heavy downpour. "Great." Pan stated sarcastically.

"Capsule Corp. is just a few miles from here." He had to shout over the rain, which was now coming down in buckets. "Do you think you could make it if we fly there?"

"Yeah."

The force of habit caused Trunks to wrap his arms around her waist and carry her, even though he knew she could fly. She didn't mind though, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, keeping them close. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and ki. It felt nice, but it wasn't very successful in protecting them from the buckets of water that was coming down on their heads. They were already soaked by the time they took off.

They flew like that all the way to Capsule Corp. Trunks pulled up to his bedroom window. It was the only opening in the house that wasn't rigged with alarms and remained unlocked, giving them easy access. Pan climbed inside, Trunks following. Pan wrung out her hair, but it didn't do much good. She was soaked to the bone, along with Trunks. 

"That's some storm." Trunks said as he shook the water out of his short hair, almost like a dog would. 

Pan giggled as cold drops of water landed on her skin from his hair. She promptly stopped, when a loud crash of thunder rattled the windows. She took off Trunks' jacket and walked over towards the heater to get warm. Trunks couldn't help but admire how she looked as she attempted to dry herself off. Her hair was sticking to her face, still dripping. Her dark clothes were clinging to her, revealing only her figure but nothing else. It was still enough to drive Trunks insane just watching her. 

She looked out the window at the pouring rain, and lightning flashes. Trunks was still staring at her when she turned around and looked at him. "What's wrong Trunks?"

He snapped back into reality at the sound of her voice. He was grateful for the darkness in his room when he blushed. "That's a pretty bad storm." He said, "Maybe you should stay here tonight." 

"That's a good idea." She admitted. Even though she had a job to do, there was no sense in baring out this weather to get back to her ship after it was done. She could just hang out there until the storm passed. "I guess I'll use the same room I slept in before."

Trunks didn't respond. "Well…, good night." She said as she headed to the door.

She turned the knob and opened it slightly, only to have it forced shut by a large hand just above her. She turned around, only to come face to face with Trunks, who was standing _very_ close.   

"Actually, I was hoping you'd stay _here_ w-with m-me." He suggested. 

It took her only a few moments to comprehend what he was _really_ suggesting. She didn't say anything. She _couldn't_ say anything. How was a person supposed to respond to something like that? They say "no thanks", that's how they respond, but for some reason, the words didn't want to form on her lips.

After receiving no reply, Trunks leaned down slowly. The water from her hair landed on his nose as he closed the space between them. Another crash of thunder sounded around them, but his time, neither could be bothered to pay attention. He pressed his lips to hers, lightly at first. Pan felt her body betray what her heart and mind were screaming at her. She tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, naturally deepening the kiss. 

He pulled away for a moment… just to look at her. He asked her a silent question with his eyes, but she just stared back into his crystal blue depths. Even in the dark, she could read his face. She knew what she was getting into, but her world was spinning, and this may be the only chance… 

Her eyes sparkled up at him, showing only love. Taking this as the answer he was hoping for, he kissed her again. This time, it was even more passionate than ever before. He tasted and savored her flavor, moving his hands up and down her sides, attempting to get her to relax a bit. She responded by running her hands over his chest, which was now void of his shirt. When did _that_ happen?

She gasped against his mouth at the feelings his attentions were giving her. She felt her knees melt and her head spin in disbelief of what was happening. After her moment of disorientation, she found herself laying on his bed. He was looking lovingly down at her, still watching for signs that maybe she didn't want to do anything. He didn't want to push her, and if she made any sound or actions that might mean she wanted to stop… he would stop, no questions asked. He loved her too much to hurt her.

She smiled up at him. In the low light coming from his window, she could barely see a cocky smile spread across his face. Unable to resist the temptation, she found herself surrendering to his "suggestions" for the rest of the night. This, was a decision she would regret… quite possibly for the rest of her life.   

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

His breath slowed and deepened as he fell into slumber. She could feel his bare chest move against her naked back every time he took in a breath. She laid there, watching the rain fall out side, some of it splattering against the window, as thunder crashed softly in the background. The storm was leaving now, but it was still raining hard enough to make her want to stay there, in the warmth of his bed.        

His arm was draped around her waist, holding in an almost protective matter. His nose, buried in her hair, as though he was smelling a bouquet of flowers. She remembered waking up like this before, during her training. Then, he had claimed it as a simple accident, a force of habit that he would snuggle up against something warm when lying next to it. 

Her breath was slowing too. The rain was slowly lulling her to sleep, not that she wasn't exhausted before. She slowly closed her eyes, content in her warm surroundings on such a cold night. However, the moment she did, the image of her father flashed through her mind, and a chill raked her body, causing her to shake. Trunks stirred at the movement, but did not wake up. He was always a pretty sound sleeper, granted, not nearly as sound as her grandfather. 

Automatically dismissing the image of her father's proud face, she closed her eyes again. This time, another image plagued her, the image of a ring. Not the engagement ring that Trunks had gotten "Kara", but of her promise ring, which was still in the pocket of her pants that lay strewn somewhere along the floor. 

She gasped quietly as she remembered. In the heat of that night's… experience with Trunks, she had forgotten her promise. How could she have simply _forgotten_ about something she had held so dear her entire life? Already, she could feel a pain rise up from her belly. She had acted selfish and irresponsible in her own desires. Because of her immaturity and stupidity, she had just spent the last few hours breaking a promise that she was to hold dear for her entire unmarried life. 

Her father's face flashed through her mind again. She could remember how proud her parents were on that day. How old was she back then? Fifteen?

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

She remembered running down the stairs, shyly walking up to her dad. "Are you going by the post office tomorrow?" She had asked.

"I can." He replied, "Do you need something mailed?"

"Yeah, just this." She said handing him the envelope. Quickly, she attempted to make her escape back up to her room.

"Pan!" Gohan yelled. 

Reluctantly, she walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen, looking down at her feet, hoping her father wouldn't ask her anything about the letter. 

"What is this?" He asked, confirming her fears.

"It's nothing, just a letter." She answered simply, hoping yet doubting he would buy her answer and let her go.

"What is 'True Love Waits'?" He asked, "A book or something?"

"No, it's just a… a sort of… program."

"What kind of program?" He asked, automatically suspecting something of his adolescent daughter… like most dads.  

"Dad, I really don't want to talk about it." She answered bluntly. 

"Well, you forgot to seal the envelope. Can I at least look inside?" Gohan requested, wondering why his young, tom-boy daughter was interested in something with the words "true love" in it.

Pan whimpered lightly as Gohan began fiddling with the envelope. "Isn't it some sort of crime to open someone else's mail?!" Pan snapped, earning an angry look from her father. 

"Pan!" Videl scolded, looking up from her paper. "You know your father would never invade on your privacy unless you gave him permission. He's just curious as to why you're being so secretive about whatever's in that letter."

Pan growled softly and ran up the stairs yelling, "Fine! Read it! Just don't say anything to me about it after you do!"

Gohan shook his head, wanting to know what was sparking Pan's temper like that. Videl crossed her arms, watching angrily as Pan ran up the stairs and slammed her door shut. Gohan opened the letter with urgency, fearing the worst about what kind of "program" his little girl was about to sign up for. Without patience, he dumped the contents out onto the table. There was a note written on a small piece of stationary, and a card which she had signed. 

He opened the folded up paper and read intently. Videl watched in confusion as his angry frown turned into a bright smile. "That's some daughter we have, Videl." He said, pride lacing his every word. 

"What do you mean?" She asked, grabbing the paper from his hands. Her expression changed too, and she nearly yelled with joy as she read the top line of Pan's list out loud, "'My reasons for remaining a virgin until marriage. By: Pan Son.'"

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

A month passed after that day, and Pan's sixteenth birthday approached. Her parents honored her request, and never said a word about her promise. She had a small party, inviting only her family and close friends. Gift after gift was opened, most of them being from her grandfather Satan. The party came and went, as did all of her invited guests. As soon as she said goodbye to the last person, her parents sat her down in the living room.

"There's one more present for you to open." Videl told Pan as Gohan handed her a small, wrapped box. 

Pan looked up, a questioning look on her face. "Why didn't you give this to me earlier?" She asked.

"I don't think you would have appreciated opening it in front of everyone else." Gohan answered. 

Pan tore the wrapping with care and opened the box. Inside the square box, was a smaller, red, velvet box. She gasped in surprise when she opened it. There was a gold ring, accented by a small diamond. It wasn't anything incredibly fancy, but it was still beautiful. She pulled the ring out, it was attached to a gold chain. 

"I called the program's hotline. They were selling cheaper rings themselves, but I wanted to get you one that was from us. They said that you're supposed to wear it on your left ring finger, until it's replaced by a wedding band. I know how much you hate to wear rings, so I thought wearing it as a necklace would be better." Gohan nervously spoke.   

"Well? Do you like it?" Videl asked. 

Pan looked up at her parents, their faces were beaming with pride. _Her_ face, however, was glowing red. Sex was a touchy subject she really didn't like to talk about, _especially_ with her parents. "It's beautiful." She replied, "I promise… I'll wear it and carry it with me." 

On closer inspection, she noticed there was something written inside. Turning it around in fingers, she looked at it closely. Engraved on the gold inside the band were the words 'True Love Waits'. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

_'Mom and Dad were so proud of me that day.'_ Pan thought to herself. _'What were my reasons for the promise?'_

She strained to remember. It was so long ago. _'I wanted it to be something cherished and special between me and my husband, and no one else. And now… the promise is broken, and I feel I've betrayed everything on my list. I didn't want to make a major mistake with someone who only wanted me for my body. I have my respect, and I wanted to show it. _' Pan thought about an old friend of hers from High School. She was going to make the promise with Pan, but then she got a boyfriend, and suddenly decided that she could be responsible without remaining a virgin. _'The last time I heard from her, she dropped out of High School after having a baby at age sixteen. I thought she was so dumb for doing that, but here, I just made the same mistake.' _

She turned and looked over at the sleeping form beside her. She felt that she really loved him, but was he worth the abandonment of her principles? Was he really her true love and would he have waited for her if she would've said no? She gently pulled back a piece of hair that was in his face. She dreamt about this moment for so long, yet when it actually happened, she felt empty. 

_'Why couldn't I keep this one stupid promise?! My parents succeeded at it, why couldn't I?! It's not that hard to do, you just… don't have sex! _' She yelled at herself. 

As her mind continued to run over her reasons and relive memories of their previous activity, her body was slowly shutting down for the night. Her head rested against his chest, she joined him in slumber. Her nightmare never came back to her that night, but her head began to hurt again. In fact, it began to pulse with pain. Even in her sleep, it was tormenting her. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Yawning, he leaned over and put his arm around her, but there was no her, just a cold bed. Wait a minute, wasn't there supposed to be someone warm and soft laying next to him?

"Trunks, get your butt out of bed! The Son's are here for the picnic!" Bulma yelled through her son's door.

"Wha…? Okay Mom…" Trunks said, groggily opening his eyes. 

Pan nearly had a heart attack before she remembered that the door was locked. After tying the laces to her boots, she quickly stood up and headed towards the door, hoping that Trunks was too asleep to notice her. 

"Kara?" He asked, letting another yawn out. He sat up in bed, the sheets drifted down to reveal a pair of boxers. He must have gotten up during the night. 

"Hmm?" 

"Where are you going?" He asked, noticing that she was fully dressed in sweats and a tank top. 

"Um… I'm going back to see my uncle. He's probably wondering where on earth I am." She told him, chuckling nervously.

Trunks got up and walked over to her. His eyes were shining at her with affection, and his cocky smile was returning. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and buried his nose in the crook of her neck, simply to enjoy her scent. "Why don't you stay a little longer?"

"I can't." She answered.

"I'll take full responsibility if you get in trouble with your uncle." He said, his warm breath on her neck giving her goose bumps. 

"Trunks, I can't."

"What's wrong?" He asked backing away to look her in the eyes, concern written all over his face.

She stumbled with her words as a deep blush appeared on her face. "I shouldn't of… well, _we_ shouldn't of… last night… I wasn't supposed to… we… I…I-I…"  
  


"Kara, spit it out." He said.

She looked sad again, whatever was wrong, it was obviously something big to her. She looked down at the floor, tears nearly falling from her eyes. "Trunks, I wasn't supposed to… do… what I did with you."

"What do you mean?"

She held up the ring that was hanging from the chain around her neck so that he could see it. "It's a promise ring." She answered his unspoken question.

"True love waits?"

"I got this ring when I made a promise a long time ago. It was a promise… of abstinence until marriage."

Trunks gulped. He had a feeling that she was inexperienced in that particular department, but he had no idea that is was so important to her. Most girls he knew would give up their virginities without ever looking back, but with Kara… she was obviously feeling remorse about the events of the previous night. He rushed her, he knew it. It's just that… he was getting desperate not to lose her, and he wanted to cherish every moment that they had together. 

True, it had still been her choice too, but she wouldn't have done it if he wouldn't have been so persistent. From the first kiss of the night, to the last, he could feel her holding back. There _had_ been something on her mind, just as he suspected. But if this was so important to her, then why didn't she say anything? Perhaps…, perhaps it was because she wanted to stay with him as much as he wanted her to. 

"I'm sorry." He said softly, "I didn't mean to rush…"

"It wasn't your fault. I never gave you any indication that I didn't want to." She denied.

"I know how I… how _we_ can make this right." He said, lifting her chin with his finger so she would look up.

"How?" 

"You could s-stay here, a-a-and, marry me." He was looking her straight in the eye, a determined look on his face. His eyes were dancing with the hope and love he felt for her. It was almost unbearable to Pan.   

"T-Trunks… I…"

"I know you know that ring is for you." He interrupted, "I bought it on an impulse, but I thought it was a good decision."

"Trunks…" She trailed off as she finally let a tear roll down her cheek.

"Kara, please… stay here with me. I need you, I love you. We can build a life together and be happy. Whatever it is that you're keeping secret, well… we can work through it, find a way around it."

Pan bit her lower lip. She was trying her best to squeeze the tears back in. She didn't need to appear even weaker than she already had. Finally, she got a hold of herself and spoke, "Trunks, you'll never know how much I truly love you." With those words, she ran out of his bedroom. 

Trunks grabbed her arm, but surprisingly, she pulled herself away from his grip with ease. He was about to follow her out into the hallway and down the stairs, but it felt a little too drafty, as if he wasn't wearing... "Clothes." He reminded himself, "Clothes would be good." Fearing the very thought of running after his girlfriend down the stairs in only his boxers when all of the Son's were over, he quickly put on a pair of pants and a shirt. 

 Pan ran down the stairs and into the living room. She saw Bulma talking to Chichi, so she decided to take the back way, hoping to avoid anyone seeing her run out of the house. She got out the door before she realized that the picnic was _in_ the back yard. Everyone else seemed to be out there… including Piccolo, who had obviously sensed her ki from the previous night. 

She turned, hoping to make a mad dash for the wooded area, when she ran into something. She looked down at Videl, who was on the ground with a platter of appetizers spilled over her. Pan bent down and frantically started trying to pick up the spilled food before Trunks caught up to her. In her panic, she slipped, "Oh, I'm sorry Mom."

Videl's eyes shot up. Mom? Pan gasped and looked up to meet her mother's gaze. Videl always remembered a face. In her police training, it had been essential to learn how to study and remember a person's features. There was something very familiar in that young woman's eyes. Videl gasped in shock as well, realizing who she was… or at least, who she may be. Why didn't she see it before?

"P-Panny?" Videl asked, still slightly in shock.  

Pan whimpered and nearly sobbed as she stood up and ran, leaving behind her fallen mother. The woods were nearby, she could lose all of them if she lowered her ki enough. If she could just get beyond the trees…

"Girl! Stop running, this instant!" Yelled a very loud, familiar voice. 

Pan stopped, only to turn around and see a very angry, powered-up Vegeta standing back over by the house. His ki was going up even higher, as if he was planning on challenging her or something. At that moment, she noticed that she had not gone through unnoticed like she wanted to. Now, everyone was outside and staring at her. 

Videl stood up quickly and ran over by Gohan. She leaned on him like a support, due to her recent shock. Was she going crazy? That girl… had called her 'mom', and everything about her reminded Videl of Pan.

Trunks ran out of the door behind Vegeta. He was about to run over to Kara, but Vegeta stuck his arm out, silently ordering his son to stay behind him. Surprisingly, he obeyed. Vegeta was up to something, Trunks was sure of that, but if he ever stuck his nose into his son's business, it was usually for a good reason.  

"What do you want Vegeta?" She asked quietly, knowing that she was trapped in a corner, with very little chance of getting out.

"You've mated with my son." Vegeta stated clearly. 

"Dad!" Trunks softly shouted, his face turning red. "Leave her alone!"

Kara looked at the ground, giving Vegeta silent confirmation. "What do you want?" She repeated.

"Who are you?" He asked through clinched teeth.

"What are you talking ab…?"

"Don't give me that!" Vegeta yelled, "You might have been able to trick my son into believing whatever you said, but I'll have you know… I'm not so easily fooled."

"It doesn't matter anymore." She answered quietly, knowing that almost everyone there could hear what she was saying anyway, "I'm leaving now, and this time, I'm never coming back."

Trunks felt his heart sink at her words. 

"I might have been satisfied with that answer before, but not now! You've come here for a reason, and I'm not letting you go until I find out!" Vegeta stated proudly.

"That's too bad because I need to go. I'm not her for any 'reason' other than the fact that I fell in love with your son."

"I'm not buying it, girl."

"Well, that's _your_ problem." Pan said, doing something that she knew better than to do. In all of her life, there was one lesson that Vegeta stressed to her whenever they were training; never turn your back on the enemy while they're still alive. Always keep a look out, for even though they might appear to be unconscious, doesn't mean they are, and they will probably try to take you down the first chance they get.

"Fool." Vegeta muttered under his breath. He lifted his hand up and aimed for the middle of her back. Maybe this was the only way to find out what she was really hiding. 

Trunks watched, wide-eyed, mouth open as his father shot a ki blast towards Kara. It was a rather large one, capable of injuring even a Super Saiyan. He released it and sent it speeding towards her. She never even tried to dodge it.

Pan fell on her hands and knees as the powerful stream of energy hit her full-on. As the beam subsided, she was still leaning over. Her back stung and burned for all it was worth, and her shirt was burned off in the back. Nevertheless, she stood up and turned around to see Vegeta face to face.

"I'll do it again… and this time, you might not be able to block it." He warned.

"Stop this father!" Trunks shouted.

"Shut up, boy. This is for your own good."

Pan smirked and stood her ground. Vegeta cocked an eyebrow, surprised at the young woman's courage, and attitude. Everyone around them just watched. Chichi stood in the background, wondering when her son or Bulma were going to step up and help this poor girl. Gohan and Videl watched with more curiosity than worry. Videl had told her husband about what had happened. If this truly was Pan, then she would be able to take the blasts. Gohan could sense her ki. She was only partly powered up, and she had taken the blast fine. Piccolo stood by and watched in amusement. She had been asking for this. He had even warned her about it, but she didn't listen. Now, she was going to have to pay for her carelessness. Bulma stood a ways behind Vegeta. She was worried, but the cold fact was, she really didn't trust this girl either. Plus, she knew Vegeta wouldn't just go around fighting people who weren't any challenge to him. Well, not any more. He seemed genuinely concerned about his son, and that must mean that he knew something she didn't.    

Vegeta fired another blast towards Pan. This time, she put her arms up in front of her face. The blast hit and sent her tumbling backward on the ground. It was a lot more powerful than the last one was, and she was hurting pretty bad now. She staggered up to her feet, determined to turn around and leave.    

"Oh, don't go anywhere yet!" Vegeta ordered as he powered-up even more.

"Dad, no… please, stop!" Trunks pleaded.

Vegeta smirked. He put his hands together and sent another ki blast at her. Pan managed to put up her guard, but the blast was too big for her to take. It completely engulfed her and sent her to her knees. It was burning her badly, she could tell. If it kept up much longer, she was going to have to power up even more.

The blast continued, Vegeta wasn't letting up. Trunks looked on in desperation, about ready to run into the blast and pull her out of it. He would never forgive his father if anything happened to her. 

The energy was surrounding her, causing every inch of her skin to burn and sting. _'Don't power up. Don't power up._' She repeated to herself. 

Vegeta sent a surge of more powerful energy toward her. Finally, Pan allowed herself to increase her strength. She was able to get back on her feet, but she could still feel the beam penetrating her skin. Was he out to kill her? After enduring such a blast for so long, she let out a cry of agony, feeling her clothes burn up and her flesh peel at the raw power of Vegeta's blast. 

Finally, it subsided. Vegeta put his hand down and gasped in shock of what he saw in front of him. Everyone else gasped as well.

"What the…?" Gohan began. 

Pan put her arms down and collapsed to her knees. She was panting hard, and it hurt to move. She looked up. It caused her pain to move her head, but she only wanted to see if Vegeta was planning to send another attack. She scanned the faces of everyone there. They all looked the same. Their mouths were open and they had the expression of shock and surprise. 

_'I guess it's the first time they've ever met a human so…'_ She interrupted her own thoughts. Why was Vegeta surprised?

Panic rising in her once more, she reached up and pulled a lock of her hair down in front of her. Her heart nearly stopped… her hair was blonde. She had powered up too much and went Super Saiyan in front of everyone. 

"Who are you?" Vegeta asked, more urgent now than before.

"What do I look like?" She started, still panting, it was all over now, and they might as well know the truth, "Isn't it obvious?! I'm a Saiyan!" 

"Where did you come from? How come you're alive after planet Vegeta blew up?!" Vegeta yelled.

"I'm… I'm from the future." She admitted.

"How far into the future?"  
  


"Seventeen years." She answered.

"How old _are_ you?" Bulma asked from behind.

"I'm twenty-five years old."

Trunks' mind was reeling. A Saiyan? He tried to get his mind to work. Twenty-five minus seventeen was… was… What was the answer?! He couldn't think straight. It was…

"Daddy! Daddy!" A young Pan yelled, running over to her father and tugging on the rim of his jacket for his attention. "I met this girl Silk, and she can… Whoa! Kara's a Super Saiyan?!"

Trunks looked over at the young girl. The answer seemed to suddenly click for everyone at the young Saiyan's arrival. 

"Pan? Panny?" Gohan asked the older woman. 

Trunks felt an unpleasant pain in his chest. It was almost unbearable. His heart was broken. Kara… the woman he loved… had been playing a game this entire time. She was Pan. Pan, the same little eight year old girl that was right then clinging to her father's jacket. It was too mind boggling to even think about. He didn't want to think about it! He didn't want to think at all!

Pan looked up at Trunks, trying to read his expression. He was rubbing his chest, and he looked confused and frustrated. It was almost as if he was in pain. He looked at her, and returned her gaze with a cold glare. His ki rose dramatically and his anger exploded. He took off in to the sky in a flash. Where he was headed, he didn't know. He was blinded by his anger and the hot tears that were falling down his face. He was actually letting himself cry over _her_, which surprised even himself. He was just thankful his father wasn't around to see it. 

Pan watched Trunks fly off, knowing that he was angry. She turned back towards everybody. "I'm sorry," She attempted to say, but it came out as a sob, "I didn't mean to…"

Unable to control her emotions, she took off as well, on foot, into the woods. Tears stung her eyes as she ran through the trees. She was freely sobbing now. She stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered something, her spray. It was back at the house in Trunks' room. Slowly, she sat down against a random tree to regain her composure. She needed to go back to the house, and soon, but she was going to go back with dignity.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks flew over the city and through the woods as fast as he could. His vision was blurry, distorted by stinging tears that were refusing to go away. He wasn't sure if his tears were the cause of anger or pain. He knew he was heartbroken, and he was so angry, he felt as if he could kill someone, but were the undignified tears worth being shed over _her_? She lied to him. She tugged on his heart strings, bonded with him, and even… spent the night with him, why? So she could feel the joy of seeing his face when he found out?

He slowed slightly, feeling the drain of his explosion begin to empty his supply of energy. As he flew over the thick, green canopy of the forest, something caught his eye. There was a small clearing about four miles down to the west of him. In the middle of that clearing was a white dome, and it had the "Capsule" logo on it. Was it a Capsule House? No, his entire life was spent inventing new models of these modern homes, and this was unlike anything he had ever seen before. His keen sense of sight enabled him to see it clearer as he banked to the west in order to get a better view. It almost looked like a… 

His speed increasing, he dove down towards the mysterious Capsule, needing to satisfy his curiosity. Besides, he would have done anything at that moment to get Kar… Pan's face out of his mind, and this might have been the trick. He landed softly on the grass right next to the Capsule, studying every inch of it. It was obviously a ship of some sort, being equipped with booster rockets. Even the model number was off. There was no way that it could be such a high number. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 

Pan stood up and sniffled, trying her best to clear her eyes of tears and get rid of the embarrassing red hue that the weeping had left on her face. _'Why am I crying?'_ She asked herself. _'I'm here representing the future to my young family, but I'm acting like I'm still eight.'_

Summoning up her courage, she started walking back towards Capsule and the shocked group of loved ones she had left behind. _'It's time I grow up and stop running from my problems.' _ She started out walking, but quickly quickened her pace so that she would be forced not to chicken out again. She pulled out her orange bandana and tied it on her head. She needed all the support she could get, even if it came from only a small piece of her Grandfather's history.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"I don't understand…" Gohan began, shock still evident by the look on his face. "That was Panny?"

"Apparently," Bulma answered, "but we really should be worried about _why_ she's here. I hope there's nothing wrong. You know what happened the last time someone came to us from the future."

Gohan looked towards the ground, understanding and remembering. The little Pan saw the look on her dad's face. He looked like he was in a bad mood, but she went up to him anyway. Everyone looked that way, but she didn't know why and she wanted some answers. 

"Daddy?" Pan asked, tugging on his sleeve.

"Hmm?" He said, looking at the little Pan in a new light. That woman was the same person as his little girl. He felt a pain in his stomach. Did she really _have_ to grow up? Couldn't she just stay his little girl forever?

"Why is everyone angry?" She asked, "Is it because Kara can go Super Saiyan?"

Gohan took a deep breath, wondering how he was going to explain something like this to a child. He was having a difficult time understanding all of this himself. "Panny, Kara is…"

Bulma gasped, gaining Gohan's and everyone else's attention, "You're back!"

Gohan spun around quickly to see the young woman walking back from the woods. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. It was obvious that she had been crying. 

Videl held back a gasp of her own at the sight of her daughter from the future. "You really are our Panny, aren't you?" She asked, almost to herself.

Pan bit her bottom lip and nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I am." She answered.

There was a silence that moved over the small crowd. Everyone was staring at Pan, which slightly unnerved her. Gohan was standing there in awe, just looking at her. With her orange bandana, she looked exactly like… well, herself.

Videl spoke up, breaking the silence, "Pan, what are you doing here?"

Pan sighed, not sure of where she should start. "I'm here by accident."

"By accident?! You expect us to believe that?" Vegeta barked, earning a cold stare from his mate. 

"What do you mean 'by accident'?" Bulma asked, in a much calmer voice.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan explained the whole story to them, piece by piece, detail by excruciating detail. She even went into Goten's new power, although she was still unaware about his transformation. She didn't say much about what had happened between her and Trunks, but it was more than obvious to everyone present. The last thing she wanted was to be bombarded with questions and lectures about changing the past. 

"So that's it." She finished. 

"You mean after this is over, we're going to forget all of it?" Gohan asked.

"Just the parts about me."

Gohan nodded in understanding, although he was still trying to digest all the details of the story she had just given them. "Well, I guess that's for the better. It just… it's weird. Theoretically, this could still turn out badly. If one of us were to remember you, or if you left any evidence at all, the entire universe could end up in a vicious time loop. We would all be doomed to relive these days over and over again for countless times."

Pan's expression turned angered and saddened at this news. She got up from her chair and started pacing, her face went from angry, to sad, to worried, fifteen times over as she walked in small circles around the Brief's lawn. Gohan looked up at his daughter. He hadn't meant to upset her, he just didn't know what to say. His first instinct was to walk over to her and hug her, telling her that everything was going to be fine like he would for her younger version, but he didn't know this woman. Sure, there was no doubt in his mind that she was Pan, but he had only spent eight years with her at this point. He didn't know her that well. Still, he walked over behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to stop. 

He spun her around to face him, but she kept looking at the ground. Gently, he took his finger tip and tilted her head up so that he could look directly at her. Pan's eyes were filled with confusion and worry now. She had obviously been thinking about all the mistakes she made while in the past. 

"Pan…" He said softly.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have followed Trunks here. I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have even gotten off of my ship. Because of me, the universe might blow up and…"

"The universe isn't going to blow up Pan. That was just a theory. We have no idea of what's actually going to happen. It was no one's fault that you're here in the past, it was an accident. True, you could have exercised more discretion with Trunks…" He stated, his face darkening a little as he remembered _why_ she came running from Trunks' bedroom earlier, "…but that's over and done with. Now, we just have to find a way to fix it so that minimal damage is done to the time line. All of us can help you with that. By the time we're done, not even a top-notch forensics team could tell that you were here."

Pan smiled slightly. Her dad always had a way to cheer her up. "I just… I wasn't supposed to run into any of you, and I did. It was the _way_ I ran into you though. It… you must be disappointed in me."

Gohan circled his arms around her and held her. She felt safe in her father's arms. Even with both of them aging as much as they had over the years, his hugs never seemed to change. "Pan, we're _not_ disappointed in you. It takes courage to be able to survive two months alone like this. It's not a surprise that you wanted some… human company."

Gohan slowed and cringed at the last few words. Why did she have to pick Trunks of all the people to date? Pan smiled, knowing that her father was not comfortable with the idea of her and Trunks being together. After all, in her father's eyes at that time, she was only eight. She was pretty sure that her time's father would react the same way… if she ever chose to tell anyone.

"Well," Gohan started again, "honestly, I _am_ disappointed in you for a few reasons." 

Pan looked up and backed away slowly, worry riding over her face. "Wha- what do you mean?"

"First of all, I'm disappointed that you're leaving so soon after seeing you. I would like to learn more about the woman my daughter's going to grow up to be. I'm also disappointed in the way you look."

"Huh?" She asked, alarm lacing her words.

"You came out looking exactly like I feared." Gohan said.

Pan looked up at him with worry. What was he talking about? "Dad, I…"

"You're too beautiful. You look just like your mother. I'm afraid, because that means you're going to be getting a lot of attention from boys, and I don't know if your old man's heart can handle that."

Pan laughed and returned to his warm embrace. "Don't worry," She said, "They're all too afraid that I'm going to whoop up on them."

Gohan chuckled. 

After being comforted by her father, she was welcomed by her other loved ones. Chichi came over and gave her a big hug, swooning over her granddaughter. She couldn't believe how 'adorable' her baby's little girl had turned out. 

Seeing that Chichi was smothering her, Videl walked over and placed hand on her shoulder. Chichi backed away, allowing Videl to get a good look at her daughter. "How on earth could we have missed this? You look just like your younger self, just… all grown up."

Pan smiled and gave her mother a hug. "I'm sorry for knocking you over, Mom."  
  
"It's okay. What was the big rush for?" Videl asked.

Pan pulled away and hung her head. She was blushing furiously at thinking about answering Videl's question. "It's just…" She trailed off.

"Something with Trunks?" 

Pan bit her bottom lip and nodded a 'yes', giving her mother the answer she had expected.   

"Oh… I'm sorry honey. At least he'll forget everything." 

"Yeah." Pan agreed sadly.

"I wonder where Goten is. It's too bad he missed this." Gohan said trying to lighten the mood.

"He went for a walk with Marron." Chichi said, thinking that it was more than just a walk between friends, of course, "Pan, does Goten ever find a girl in the future?" 

"Grandmother Chichi, you know I shouldn't…"

"If I'm going to forget eventually anyway, then what's the harm?" She asked using an 'as a matter of fact' tone of voice. 

Pan smiled. Some things never change. "Yes, grandmother, he is married in the future."

Chichi squealed with joy. "Yes!" She cheered, "How long until he does? Who's the lucky girl? Are there any children? Does he have decent job, or is she rich? What does she look like? Do I like her?" 

"Grand…"

"Do I know her parents? Do I like them? What do their children look like?"

"Why… Grandma…"  
  
"Are they happy? I hope they're happy. Am I happy with them?"

"Grandmoth…"

"Are they healthy? In good shape? Did Goten ever go back to college? Are there…"  
  


"Mom!" Gohan yelled, snapping her out of her rampant questions, "Why don't you give Pan a little time to answer your questions?"

Chichi looked at her son disapprovingly for yelling at her, but quickly switched her attention back to Pan for her answers. "Well?"

"He doesn't get married for another twelve years."

"Twelve years?!" Chichi yelled, "What on earth could have taken him so long?"

"Well… I guess it was because it took him that long to admit his feelings for her and vice-versa." Pan answered. 

"Who's 'her'?" Gohan asked, feeling a little curious about the future himself. 

"It's Marron." She said, receiving surprised looks from everyone. "They sort of like each other now, but… well… some stuff got… will get in the way of them ever really getting together for a while."

"What kind of stuff?" Chichi asked.

"Trunks, for one. He almost married her. Luckily, Goten finally found the courage to go talk to her before the ceremony."

"What happened then?" Chichi asked, yet again.

"Mom, I think we should stop interrogating Pan before we find out too much about the future." Gohan suggested.

"Okay." Chichi said, like a disappointed child, "but at least answer one more question for me, so I can have something to look forward to. What about grandchildren?"

"None yet, but they're trying." Pan answered. Chichi hung her head in disappointment, so Pan decided to cheer her up. "Mom and Dad have another kid, though."

Chichi smiled brightly at this news. Gohan and Videl nearly fell over in surprise.

"Really?" Chichi squeaked.

"Yep! His name is Goku Jr. and he looks exactly like Dad in every way. He won't be born for another 11 years though." Pan answered before adding, "He's very smart too. He'll probably end up surpassing even Dad's level of academic study."

Chichi cheered and jumped up and down before running over to Gohan and Videl and giving them both giant hugs that nearly managed to strangle them both. "Good boy, Gohan and you too Videl, but you've got to do better than that! Come on! I want another grandchild! Can't you 'work at it' a little more and give me one sooner?"

"Mom!" Gohan yelled, blushing furiously along with Videl as Bulma chuckled in the background and Pan looked on, wishing she hadn't heard that. 

"Grandmother…" Pan started, hoping to change the topic, "I have a picture of Goku Jr., you want to see it?"

"You'd better be joking young lady, of course I want to see it!" 

"It's in my purse up in Trunks'… umm… well… it's upstairs." Pan said as she ran back inside the building. She ran up the stairs and into Trunks' room, trying her best to ignore the scattered pieces of clothing which still lie on his floor. They were strewn all over the floor as still remaining evidence of what had happened between them the night before. Quickly, she went through all the clothes, searching for her purse.

"Are you looking for this?" A little voice asked, the owner holding up Pan's purse for her to see.

Pan spun around, startled. She wasn't expecting anyone else to be in the room with her. "You scared me. I was wondering where you went off to."

"Why did Trunks want you to spend the night last night?" The little Pan asked.

"Huh?" The older Pan asked, feeling extremely uneasy with such a question.

"I was here last night too, and I heard you and Trunks talking." Her smaller version answered.

A sweat drop rolled down the elder's head. What was she supposed to say to someone that young? "Umm… well… you know how Bra asks you over to stay the night because you two are really good friends? Well, that's why Trunks asked me over. We're really good friends." She smiled and lied. 

"Oh…" The little Pan said sadly as her head drooped down.

"What's wrong?" The older Pan asked, sitting down next to her younger self on the edge of the bed.

"Are you really me?" 

"Yep, one hundred percent."

"And you're from the future?" 

"Yeah." The older Pan answered. "I'm who you'll be when you're seventeen years older than you are now."

"But how come you're here with me, if we're the same person?" 

The older Pan sighed, not really understanding temporal mechanics, she wasn't sure how to answer. "Well… I guess it's because… umm… I don't know." She admitted.

"Why does Trunks like you more than me?" The little girl asked. 

"He doesn't like me more than you. I'm older, so he liked to hang out with me, that's all Panny." She cringed, remembering how she hated to be called that name when she was younger.

"But he kisses you and hugs you a lot." Little Pan argued.

"That's what boyfriends and girlfriends do when they get older. Boyfriends aren't like normal friends. They're a different kind of friend. They like to…" She trailed off, trying her best to explain it without going into details. It was awkward already, now that she had realized she was starting to give herself the 'you're growing up' speech. "Pan, just wait. You'll understand when you're older."

"You sound like Mom." The little Pan said, sounding sad again.

The older Pan had to chuckle at that statement. "Think of it this way; I was Trunks' girlfriend for a while, and I'm you. So in a way, you were Trunks' girlfriend too. Does that make sense?"

"What do you mean 'was'? You're not anymore?" Pan asked, now looking hopeful and cheerier because her older self told her that. 

"You know how Dad always told us to be honest with the ones we're closest to? Well, I wasn't honest with Trunks. I lied to him about something pretty big. He got mad, and I don't thinks we're boyfriend-girlfriend anymore. Plus, I have to go back to the future, so it wouldn't have worked out." 

"Oh." The little Pan said, disappointed again. "I wish I would have known I was Trunks' girlfriend earlier."

"Well," The older Pan started, lightly laughing at the words of her younger self, "at least you'll have him all to yourself now, so you can be friends."

"Yeah, until he gets another girlfriend. Besides, he's mad at me."  
  


"That won't last forever. The one thing we've always been good at is getting out of trouble."

"Umm… I have a crush on Trunks." The younger Pan blurted for no apparent reason other than to get it off her chest.

"I know." The older Pan said.

"How?"

"Because I'm you, and I have a crush on him too." She stated a-matter-of-factly. 

The younger Pan giggled at her older self. She was happy to be able to tell someone else. 

"There you are!" Bulma said as she walked into her son's bedroom, Vegeta following. "Panny, why don't you go play with Bra downstairs? She's been looking for you." 

The little Pan jumped off the side of the bed and went running down the hallway, faster than the eye could see. The older Pan got up from the bed slowly, feeling somewhat cornered. Was Trunks' bedroom really the right place to have a 'talk' with his parents?

"Umm… I was just coming in to get my purse." Pan said.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to ask you how you were doing." She said. 

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"I meant how you were doing with Trunks."  
  


"Oh." Pan sighed and hung her head. She shifted some of the clothes with her foot, pretending to be more preoccupied with the carpet than what Bulma was saying. 

"He seemed to be… quite angry when he left."

"Yeah." Pan said softly.

"Then he just… ran away from here like a hurt child having a temper-tantrum. _I_ certainly did not raise him to run away from things that are bothering him, and neither would Vegeta. I don't know why he was being such a coward. He didn't even…"

"Don't blame him." Pan said firmly. "I'm the one who lied."

Bulma cocked her head, trying to read Pan's expression. A look of concern spread across her face. "He'll get over it, you know. He's angry now, but he'll…"

"He has every right to be angry. I told him I was something I wasn't. I deceived him, and he doesn't even know why." 

"Why?" Bulma asked.

Pan felt more tears flooding her eyes. Why did she have to cry this much, especially now, in front of her ex teacher and his mate? She sniffled, feeling the salty liquid travel down her cheek before she could wipe it away. "I… have loved him forever, but as far as his feelings go, I'm just a tom-boyish, could-be sister brat who's a lot younger than him. He's never thought of me as anything else. But when he sat down across from me and looked at me with those gorgeous eyes, I couldn't help but fall into them. He's never looked at me like that before. He's never looked at me like… a woman… and I was enjoying it. A little too much, I guess." She finished quietly, wiping off her face with her hands. 

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying someone treating you like a woman. Besides, he's to blame to… him and his 'hunting skills' with women. He can smell estrogen a mile away. Trust me, I know my son, and when he sees a woman with a nice figure he…"

"It's all part of the charade. I never wear make-up, or skirts. I wear baggy clothes and my bandana, it's what I've always done and probably will always do. In the future, I doubt he even notices that I have a woman's figure. You know, a lot of people think of me as just… one of the guys. I mean… even my demeanor is…" Pan trailed off. "You see that little eight year old girl playing in your yard downstairs? I don't get much more effeminate than that. It's no wonder Trunks has never seen me as a girl. When he asked me out… I just couldn't say no. He was finally noticing me and treating me like a normal, human woman. But now that he knows I'm Pan…When I go back to the future, I'll go back to being little Panny… and he'll go back to being just like an older brother to me. He won't even notice that I'm not a guy." 

"Pan, don't say that. He'll notice. He fell in love with you once, he can fall in love…"

"He doesn't love me."

"Do you know how often he spoke of you?" Bulma asked her. "He hardly ever talks to us about his girlfriends, but he's been talking up a storm about _you_ for the last month. He's even come to me for advice on what women want. You should see his eyes light up when he's with you. I don't know what love is if it isn't that. Every time he hears _anything_ that sounds like 'Kara' he…"

"That's just it." Pan interrupted. "He was in love with Kara, not me."

"Pan, he _is_ in love with you, and I stress the word 'is'. He's a little upset and confused right now, but he'll get over it. He'll realize that he loves you for you and come running back on his knees."

"Ms. Bulma, thanks for letting me vent on you, but you're wrong. You don't understand how he feels about me. Even if he did get over it, he would only forget about me after I spray him anyway."

"No, _you're_ wrong. I've been seeing the way you two act around each other for a while now. I know you both love each other. Love can always find a way, even through time. I guarantee that you two will find the feelings you had for each other again."

"I'm sorry Ms. Bulma, but I've got to get my purse and get out of here. All I want to do is make everyone forget about me, then go home." Pan said. She bent down and picked up the black bag and ran out, leaving a frustrated Bulma behind. 

"She doesn't know what she'll be missing if she gives up." She said to her husband after Pan was gone.

Vegeta, who had been leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and listening the entire time, finally spoke up. "I say leave them alone. There are much more important things in life than just finding and tying yourself down to a mate."

Bulma picked up a discarded piece of clothing and threw it at the proud Saiyan. Vegeta merely let it hit him in the chest and fall, as he smirked playfully at his mate's reaction to his words. 

Pan walked back downstairs and back into the backyard. Once again, she was 'assaulted' by her grandmother. "Where's the picture? Did you bring it down with you? I want to see my grandbaby, where's the picture?"  
  


"Grandmother, I know I said I would let you see the picture, but I'm having second thoughts. I don't know if you'll forget an image like that and I really don't want to take any risks."

"That's probably a good idea." Piccolo said, finally joining in the conversation, "You've made too many mistakes already."

"Mr. Piccolo, how long have you known about Pan?" Gohan asked, stepping in on his daughter's behalf.

"Long enough. She's been sloppy and irresponsible since the moment she stepped off her ship. It's no wonder she's already given her identity away."

The young woman looked toward the ground, guilt once again riding over her features. Gohan put his hand underneath her chin and lifted it up. "Well we can take care of that." He said, looking caringly into her eyes, as he always had, just like the loving father he was, "We just need to get coordinated and start erasing some of the evidence that she was ever here."

"There's not much to do." Pan said softly. "I just need to spray you all, in order to make you forget the future me. I can do that right now."

"No, let me have the cleaning robots take care of Trunks' room first." Bulma said.

"Good idea." Pan said, a pain of frustration rising up inside of her, due to the fact that they all knew.

"But don't you think it would be better if everyone was here so you could do it all at once? If Trunks or someone got back here before they forgot you…" Videl asked.

"Right," Gohan spoke,  "I didn't think about that. Maybe we should wait until Goten, Marron and Trunks get back." 

"No," Pan started, "Marron and Goten may be back any moment, but I doubt Trunks will come home anytime soon. He's masking his ki, so he obviously doesn't wasn't anyone to find him right now."

"Well then what do we do?" Bulma asked.

"I can set the ki radar to pick up any residual ki he left behind. It'll pick up low signals, so I should be able to tell where exactly he went before his ki dropped off." Pan though out loud.

"Ki radar?"

"It something Bulma will create soon." Pan explained. 

Bulma elbowed her Saiyan mate in the ribs rather abruptly, causing him to flinch in surprise, "See?" She said, about to go on another ego trip, "I told you I'm a genius." 

"Just keep telling yourself that…" He muttered under breath. 

"So where is this radar thing?" Videl asked.

"It's in my ship. I can go and grab it, then swing by and spray Trunks, and come back and spray all of you."

"Sounds like a plan." Gohan said. 

"Great, see you later." Pan said. She was actually feeling better now. Things were about to return to the way they should be. She smiled as she lifted off the ground slightly.

"Panny, wait!" Gohan shouted, causing Pan to stop in her tracks.

"Hmm?"

"Don't let him get to you." He warned. He wasn't sure why he said it, he just did. Maybe it was some of his 'parent's intuition' coming to the surface. In any way, he didn't want to see his little girl hurt, even if she wasn't so little.

Pan nodded, saying that she understood, then took off into the afternoon sky. It would only take a few minutes to fly to her ship, but she needed all the time she could get. She knew she would have to work up her nerve to face Trunks.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks landed on the soft grass just in front of it. He inspected the round pod visually before stepping closer. Yep, it was definitely one of Capsule's models, but who did it belong to? His steps slowed as he grew nearer. He was afraid… of what he might discover. Something in his gut told him he had more to do with that ship than he wanted.

He approached the white ship with a cautious curiosity. His hands traveled slowly over the unique medal. He knew the medal was created off the basis of a Namekian ship that his mother had flown in so long ago, but the ship itself reminded him of a Saiyan space pod, sort of like the ones in the old pictures that Capsule Corp used to manufacture when he was only a baby. His grandfather earned a large portion of his money using such unique designs for space travel, and he was well-recognized in the scientific realm for it. It was ironic that the designs had been considered ancient by the original engineers that designed these models

He walked around the ship, lightly dragging his hand around arm-level, attempting to find the 'open' button. Finally, he felt a small, uneven surface and pushed on it. With a loud hiss and metallic whirring noise, the door lowered down onto the ground. Taking it as a definite invitation, Trunks walked up the stairs and into the ship.

Almost immediately, a wall hit him. It was a wall of scent… an odor so intoxicating, that he was nearly dizzied by it. It was absolutely enchanting. He shook his head, attempting to clear it of any regrets. The scent, he knew, was of the woman he had once loved… the woman who had lied, and cheated to get her own way. He would not allow himself to fall victim to this Medusa once more. 

He snapped himself out of his horrid reverie, and started closely inspecting the pilot room of the ship. Obviously, the living quarters were in some other part. He would get to it later. Right now, the inventor's section of his brain was driving him. He knew he was standing in a time machine. In his time and dimension, no one had even attempted to build such an extravagant piece of machinery. It could've been done before, if it were deemed necessary, but no one, not even Capsule's competitors would dare risk it. If it fell into the wrong hands, or were used to change history somehow… the effects would be devastating.    

Even though there were many of his questions about the structure still unanswered, he found himself drifting towards the source of the scent… her bedroom. He walked down the stairs, directly into the small space she had been living in for nearly two months straight. He moved slowly around the perimeter of her room, taking in every detail. He passed by her stereo and took note of some of the albums she had laying out that were old enough to be present in the past. 

He went by a clothes stand. On it, were the dress and hat he had given her. He forced himself to not think about what she looked like in that dress, or how it felt to dance so closely to her. Her nightstand came next. There were two pictures on it. One picture was of him and her when they had gone out to the amusement park just a few days earlier, but he didn't recognize the other. It was a small photo, framed in a heart-shaped casing. It looked like it was the two of them, at some kind of dance. She looked young, really young, but he looked a lot older. He was wearing some sort of ridiculous looking crown and he was kneeling in front of her, kissing her hand. He let a smile escape his lips as he noticed how red her face was. She looked embarrassed, yet incredibly joyous at the same time. Was this a picture of them from the future?

He sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, still holding the picture. Another scent caught his nose. Was that… apple, or peach? He followed his nose directly to her pillow, and collapsed face down when he smelled the scent getting stronger. He laid there for a moment, simply breathing in her pillow, becoming absorbed by her essence once again. 

He tore himself away once more, finding it more difficult to escape her charms, even when she wasn't in the room. An open notebook that lay next to him caught his eye. Temptation was too great not to read.

_'Journal entry 15, day 37,_

_It's been 37 days since I left for the past. Today, I actually had to consciously remind myself to come back to the ship, instead of to my parent's house. I'm finding that it is increasingly difficult to stay here in the ship, alone._

_Today, he told me that he loved me. It's not the first time, but it felt like it was. I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing him say that. There are so many times when I'm with him that I feel the urge to spill everything about me. I want to tell him how much I really love him, and how long I've felt this way. I want to tell him to wait for me, and beg him not to see anyone else for seventeen  years until I can talk to him again, but I know that I can't. No matter what happens in the next few weeks, I'm going back, and he's forgetting me. There's nothing I can do to change that, I know it. _

_Tomorrow Trunks and I are going to the zoo and then to the movies. I can't wait to see him again! Maybe I'll tell him I'm Pan, maybe I won't. Nah, I won't. I want to enjoy him as much as I can.'_

Trunks' ki rose at the last line. Suddenly, he remembered why he was so mad at her in the first place. This was not the first time he had ever been used, but it was certainly the most painful. She lured him and seduced him and for what? So that she could enjoy him as much as she could. He suppressed his ki once again, not wanting to be noticed. His anger, however, was still very much there. 

It wasn't until he calmed slightly, when he looked down. He had inadvertently crushed her frame. The glass was broken, the medal was twisted, and the picture was bent. He took the picture out of its holder, and… for some unknown reason, he put the snap shot in his pocket. He didn't know why, he might not have even realized he did it.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 

Pan took the long way back to the ship, wanting to prolong the pain as much as possible. She thought she sensed Trunks' ki a bit back, but it disappeared. She was slightly alarmed by how close it appeared to her ship. She shrugged it off, telling herself that she was going crazy. There was no way Trunks could've found her ship. 

However, as she landed in front of it, her alarm returned. The ship's door was open, yet she specifically remembered closing it. Quickly, Pan made her way inside. The control room looked normal, but her bedroom was in a very different state. Clothes were thrown all over the place, and her mattress lay crooked off of its box spring. 

Slowly, she walked forward, wondering if the perpetrator was still in the room. She stopped when she felt glass being crushed underneath her boot. Her heart frame was laying on the ground, twisted and mangled. It looked like someone had crushed it with their hands, and the picture was missing. It didn't take her long to figure out who had messed up her room. 

She ran outside quickly, hoping for some odd reason that he hadn't left. She scanned the distance and saw him. He was sitting in front of the pond she had used to bathe in. He was hugging his knees and his face was half buried in his arms. His face was dark, and his focus was drawn to some unseen point. It looked as if he was attempting to have a stare down with his own reflection.

Pan took a deep breath and approached him, feet stomping the entire way. "What gave you the right to mess up my ship?!" She asked angrily when in earshot.

"What gave you the right to mess with my mind?!" He shot back with the same amount anger and contempt.

"I asked you first!"  
  


 "It isn't even your ship, it's mine. I own the company, I supply the product…you're just the consumer." He coldly stated, his eyes remaining fixed on the small waterfall ahead of him. 

"Trunks… why are you so angry with me?"

"Hmm… let me think about that one for a moment." He spat sarcastically. 

She rolled her eyes, trying to keep her anger and hurt in check. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you…" She said softly. 

"Really? You could've fooled me."

Pan sat down nearby, and faced him, determined to have an actual discussion. "Do you know what it's like to love someone you can't have?"

"Don't give me that trash, _Pan_. You didn't love me."

"You have no idea how wrong you are."

"No Pan, let me explain to you how I know that I'm right. When you love someone, you are honest with them, you don't _pretend_ to be someone different with them and most of all, you don't lead them on and play with their heart, simply for you to turn around and break it later. You never loved me Pan. This whole… ordeal was simply a power trip for you, wasn't it? You felt empowered when you knew you had the world's richest, strongest, youngest V.P. down on his knees and at your mercy… didn't you, Pan?" Trunks spat, then pausing to hear Pan's answer.

Pan was about to counter with her own attack, but she paused. Her mouth was open, like she was going to say something, but nothing was coming out. "Trunks," She spoke after her short silence, "Can't we talk about this? I mean… like two adults?"

"Why? There aren't two adults here."

"Trunks… you don't understand!" Pan cried, frustrated and hurt that Trunks wasn't allowing her to plead her case.

"Pan, _you're_ the one who doesn't understand!"

"Then explain it to me! Tell me why this is so impossible for you to comprehend! Tell me why you've never known me for anything more than a little sister, or how you can be completely blind to my feelings after I've given you a couple _decades_ worth of hints! Tell me the reason why you've never invited me to any of your corporate balls before, or how you can go miserably from one girl to the next, when I'm standing in front of you, willing to spend my life trying to make you happy!" She yelled, passionately, but receiving no answer, "Huh? Just tell me! Make me understand! If you loved me before, why don't you love…"

"It's simple!" He yelled back, interrupting her, "All you need to do in order to get your answers it compare. Compare Kara Oakie with Pan Son. It was your façade that I loved so much. She was a beautiful, intelligent, strong woman who knew exactly what to say or do at any given time. She was happy, sweet and innocent, seemingly untouched by today's gruesome world. She was my small, bright, perfect jewel in the middle of my trash-filled, muddy, dog-eat-dog world. She was the light of perfection that shone on my cold, dark heart. She was the only woman who has been able to melt my soul. When I was with her, I was in heaven. All of a sudden, the world seemed warmer and friendlier. I had a _reason_ to wake up everyday, a reason for living. _That_ was Kara and _she_ was my love…, but you Pan, are _not _Kara. There is no such person, and you have no idea how hopeless that makes me feel. Now look at Pan Son. She's a bratty little tom-boy with too much time on her hands. She'll manipulate anybody on earth just to get her way, and she knows how to do it. Sure, she can whine and complain, she can even cry and make other people feel sorry for her. All she needs to do is shed some tears about how no one has ever loved her, and no one ever sees her as a girl, and how she feels like she's just another face in the crowd, and automatically…, somebody somewhere will fall down at her feet to please her. She's a good actor, I'll give her that. She doesn't seem to really care about anything anymore. Light, love and basic human ethics don't matter to her, as long as she's getting her way. She'll lie, cheat, steal, and step on everyone who gets in her way, simply to gain the attentions of a rich, powerful, young and… lonely man. She's a girl who, in her struggle to appear mature in front of others, has only succeeded in making a childish fool out of herself. So, you see Pan, I can't love you, you're too young. Even at the old age of twenty-five, you will forever appear a mere child to me. At this point, I can't even see us being friends." He finished his long winded speech and turned toward Pan. He felt a twinge of guilt as he saw her obviously trying to hide her tears. 

Pan quickly wiped away the tears that fell on her cheeks as they spilled out of her eyes. Her demeanor was still one of dignity, as she had forbid it to appear otherwise. "What… has gotten in to you? The Trunks of my time would _never_ say anything like that. The Trunks from the future knows that I would never…"

"Yeah? Well, I'm not the Trunks from your time..." He said, pulling the small ring box from his pocket, "…nor do I have any desire to be." 

With one swift movement, the box went out of his hand and into the middle of the pond. The water there was about twenty feet deep, and the bottom was sandy, which would make incredibly difficult to recover, but he didn't care. That ring was intended solely for Kara, but in a way…, she was dead. It didn't belong on anyone else's finger. 

Pan bit her bottom lip in attempt to remain cool and unemotional. She wanted to stay and talk, but after seeing such a look on his face when he threw the engagement ring into the lake, she didn't think that would be possible. She opened her mouth, desperately searching for something to say that would make things right, but nothing came up. The only thing she could manage at that moment, were more tears. Giving in to his cold stare, she left, flying into the forest and towards Capsule Corps.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,            
    

"You be careful on your trip back, Daughter." Videl said, giving Pan one more hug.

"I will, I promise." 

"Pan, I'm sorry things turned out this way for you." Gohan said. "If you feel the need to talk to me or your mother about this in the future, I won't get mad. Well, I might be initially, but I'll calm down, if I remember, which I probably won't, but…"

"Dad…" Pan interrupted, giving him a hug. "Thank you, anyway."

Gohan hugged her back. Bulma stood next. They were all in a line, facing the Capsule Corp. building. Pan figured it would be easiest for her to spray all of them in a line and then high-tail it out of there. 

"Panny, forget about Trunks. If he's going to act this way…" Bulma started.

"It's okay Ms. Bulma. It was a lesson learned." Pan said, "Besides, not many people get to erase their mistakes like I get to."

Pan stood silent for a moment looking at Vegeta, although not really expecting a reaction. Bulma, however, had other plans. She poked him in the ribs. There was no way that could ever hurt the older Saiyan Prince, but his mate knew his sensitive spots. He always flinched when Bulma elbowed him there. 

"What?" He angrily asked his wife, not liking the way she had made him appear vulnerable.

Bulma whispered something to him, that made him growl lightly. "I'm sorry…" He began, "for trying to kill you."

Pan laughed a little harder than she knew she should of at how the mighty had fallen. "That's okay, Teacher. I could've handled worse."

Pan sighed, "Well, I guess I'll track down the other three later. They're around here somewhere. Brace yourselves."

Gently, she shook the spray can and made a test spray in the air. She walked over to her younger self and leaned down. 

"Is this going to hurt?!" The young Pan asked in a panicky voice, as if she was about to get a shot.

"No, but you might feel a little dizzy." The older Pan took a deep breath and sprayed her younger self in the eyes, then wasted no time in moving on to Bra. She only had a few seconds before they would come out of their disorientation. She sprayed Bra and moved on to Vegeta, following with Bulma, Chichi, Gohan and Videl. After she finished, she ran into the trees, then picked a hiding place to sit and watch from.

Everyone was quite disoriented, that was apparent. Their reactions were similar to that of tear gas. It appeared to have hurt more than the Trunks from her time said it would. They stood there and rubbed their eyes, as they watered. After a few moments, they calmed down, but were still worried about what had happened to them. However, no one seemed to remember. Piccolo explained to them that they started wigging out after they had eaten the appetizers that Videl had brought out. The disorientation was explained as a simple case of food poisoning. Gohan always suspected there was something else to that story, but he knew better than to question his former Master.

Pan watched from her little corner as her family was thrown for a loop. She couldn't help but chuckle at their reaction to hearing it was food poisoning. Bulma couldn't get over how they had managed to stand in a line while they were sick. After making sure that they didn't have any apparent memories of her, Pan ran into the woods to go find Goten and Marron.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"… so I was named because dad's first foster mother's name was Marron, not because of his old girlfriend. I remember when Mom first heard that her daughter and her husband's ex flame had the same name, it wasn't until I was about three years old, but boy, did she flip."

Goten chuckled, "Well, I can kind of understand your mom's reaction."

"Yeah…" Marron said softly, "Goten, I've had you out here for hours doing nothing but complaining and venting and crying on your shoulder. You must be bored to death."

"No, I'm not. Besides, if I wasn't here with you, I'd probably be off somewhere trying to strangle Unagi."

"Thank you Goten. You're a good friend." She said, "I just can't believe Unagi and Dex were in on this. I mean, Dex always seemed so shy and withdrawn."

"Well, I'm sure he's not so shy when it comes to money. He was confident enough to break into Capsule Corporation's accounts. I can see why he was in such a hurry to leave that night. The authorities didn't have any trouble tracking him down after he bought that condo down south with Capsule's money."

"You're probably right. You know, I always wondered how Unagi and his father acquired such a large income just from running CapTech. I mean, the company's so poor, and all of their clientele is switching over to Capsule Corp."

"And why is that?" Goten asked.

"Because Capsule Corporation's capsules are more reliable and cheaper. Plus, everyone on earth knows that Dr. Briefs is the man who created the encapsulating system. The only reason why CapTech wasn't shut down for copyright infringement was because of some stupid loophole. As if that wasn't enough… they had to have a double agent working undercover stealing Capsule Corporation's new designs and skimming money off the top of their sales. You think you know a guy…"

Goten chuckled, "How do you know all this?"

"Well, being in the room while my dinner date was read his charges gave me kind of an inside story. Plus, I'm looking to get a job at Capsule Corp."

"Really?"  
  


"Yeah, I've already talked to Trunks and he said he could get me a mid-level position to start. Knowing the VP of the company sure helps, but I want to go in there with knowledge about what I'm working with. I don't want to look like I just got the job because I'm friends with the owner's son… although that's what it is."     

Goten smiled at her. All of a sudden, he stepped in front of her, blocking her forward path. He looked down on her tenderly, wishing he cold just say what he wanted to say. Why did this have to be so difficult?

"Goten?"  
  


"Marron… I…"

"There you are." A close, loud and very abrupt voice said. 

"Kara, what are you doing out here?" Marron asked as she watched the young girl descend from above.

"I… umm… need to give you some medicine." Pan said quietly. Her voice was soft and scratchy, and anyone could tell that there was something wrong with her.

"Medicine for what?" Goten asked, immediately suspicious.

"Kara, are you okay?" Marron asked.  

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to spray you in the eyes, so you'll forget about me."

Goten looked at her like she was insane. What was she talking about? "Kara, what do you mean?"

Pan opened her mouth to explain, but for some reason, the words would not form. All she wanted to do was collapse into her uncle's embrace, so she did. She hugged him furiously and quickly as she had when she was younger. If ever in the world she needed an older brother, Goten stood there for her. 

Goten looked over at Marron who had the same shocked expression on her face. Trunks' girlfriend was hanging on to Goten for dear life, and yet Trunks was nowhere to be found. "Um… Kara? Is there something I can help you with?" Goten asked, looking down at the raven haired girl who was laying her head on his chest. He patted her back gently, not really wanting to return this near-stranger's death hold, but still wanting to be supportive. 

"I'm sorry. I know you probably think I'm crazy, but… it's been a bad day."

"Is this about Trunks?" Marron asked, seemingly understanding.

"Yes…" Pan answered, sadly. 

"What happened?"  

"He found out I'm Pan."  

Goten and Marron's jaws nearly fell on the ground. "Wha…?"

"No you aren't! What are you talking about?!" Goten shouted.

Pan growled in frustration. "I can't believe I have to explain this again. I-was-accidentally-sent-to-the-past-because-Goten-used-too-much-power-in-a-ki-blast-that-sent-me-flying-into-Ms. Bulma's-time-machine-and-seventeen-years-back-and-I'm-not-Kara Oakie,-I'm-Pan Son-and-Trunks-found-out-and-now-he-hates-me-and-now-I-have-to-make-you-all-forget-about-me-so-the-universe-doesn't-blow-up."

"O…kay." Goten said, nodding and smiling politely. 

"Forget it." Pan pulled out her spray can and shook it again. "This is a waste of time."

"No wait!" Goten yelled. He stepped closer to her and inspected her appearance. He noted the orange bandana, the black hair, blue eyes, and unordinary strength, but was this really his niece? It seemed… hard to believe, to say the least. "If you're really Pan, then prove it. Tell me what my future holds."

Pan chuckled, "I'm not easily tricked Uncle. You knew it was me before everyone else did, didn't you?"

"I had my suspicions, but I dismissed it. I didn't think there was any way you could've been who I thought you were."

"What gave me away?" She asked.

"It was your ki. Trunks and I train with you more than anyone else, and I know you're ki well. It felt exactly the same as your younger version's, just more mature, … and suppressed a lot."

"You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for, Uncle."

"Thanks… hey! What is that supposed to mean?!"

Pan chuckled, while she prepped her formula once more. 

"Wait Panny, can't you give me just one little hint about what's in store for me?" Goten pleaded.

"Yeah, me too!" Marron jumped in.

"You know… you're only going to forget it anyway." Pan warned.

"Oh, well."

"Yeah, I don't care." Goten agreed.

"Well, in about twelve years, your futures will become one." She gave.

"Huh? Panny, what are you talking about?" Goten asked, having no idea why Pan was talking in code.

"Dummy, you get married."

"Oh, cool!" Goten said, "To who?"

"To each other!" Pan yelled.

Goten turned bright red at this news, and Marron fell over backwards. Being the gentleman that his mother had raised him to be, Goten held a hand out and helped Marron back up. However, he didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he pulled her close and kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Oh Dende, tell me this is not happening!" Pan yelled to no one, feeling slightly embarrassed and awkward about just standing in front of them like she was. 

Marron didn't really know how to respond. She had never thought of Goten like that…, but if Pan said they were going to end up married, then she obviously would feel that way at some point. Oh well, might as well enjoy it. She wrapped her arms around Goten's neck and started kissing back with equal force. No one had ever kissed her with so much passion and enthusiasm. Obviously, this was part of the reason why she would marry him. 

"Umm… guys? I hate to spoil your fun, but… well… I'm not leaving you two alone while you remember this. I would like to leave soon too, I still have to administer this stuff to Trunks."

Goten and Marron parted for a moment to breathe, giving Pan hope, but then they returned to each other's affections. Goten's hands began rubbing Marron's back lightly, and lovingly. This sent Marron into a whir of feelings, including regret that they didn't realize such potential earlier. 

"Hello? I'm still here. A young, impressionable mind is watching you." Pan said, hoping to get Goten's mind off of Marron long enough to realize he was making out with her in front of his young niece.   

Goten merely stuck out his first finger at Pan, signaling for her to give them one more moment. Marron's hands began running through Goten's thick hair, massaging and combing the entire way, driving Goten mad. The last thing he wanted to do at that moment was forget all about this… experience.

"Come on!" Pan yelled, "I'm warning you, if you don't break this up now, I'm going to resort to ki attacks!"

Finally, they broke. Slowly, and painfully, their lips parted. Goten silently cursed the need for oxygen as Marron pulled out of his embrace. They both blushed brightly as reality sunk in.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Marron asked, still panting. 

Goten chuckled, out of air himself. 

"It's about time." Pan said, removing her hands form her eyes, "I hope you know I'm scarred for life now, but thanks for that little show."

"Come off it, Pan. I _know_ you and Trunks have done more than that." Marron said.

Pan blushed, and was slightly taken aback by Marron's… abruptness. "Well, at least you all are going to forget this whole visit."

"Well kiddo, I guess it's time." Goten said, wishing that he would remember having expressed his feelings to Marron, and having them returned. 

"Call me that again, and I'll come back here and hunt you down." Pan lightly threatened. 

"Yeah, I bet." Goten denied.

"I'd really like to stay and prove you wrong, but I can't." Pan said, with a slight sadness, "Brace yourselves, this may sting a little."

Goten and Marron cringed as Pan took her spray bottle and stuck it in their faces. After Pan sprayed them, she took off. At first, she ran in order to get out of their field of vision, but as she got further away, she slowed to a walk. Sure, it would take a long time to get back to her ship, but she was in no hurry. She was hoping to avoid Trunks.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

That day, Pan managed to avoid Trunks completely. In fact, the last of her remaining days were Trunks-free. Now, a week or so later, she was due to return home. It was only a matter of hours until her small ship would take off, with or without her into the future. 

The days since Trunks had learned her secret went by slowly, and miserably. Her only escape was when Piccolo would come to see if she wanted to spar. After the mistake that she made before, she wasn't about to turn him down anymore. Piccolo began lecturing her as soon as everything cooled down that one fateful day. If she would have trained her power more, instead of gallivanting around with Vegeta's son, she wouldn't have gone Super Saiyan in front of everyone. She would have transformed into the higher form, and she wouldn't have had to go through what she did. It hurt Pan to hear such words coming from her teacher, but she knew he was right. Never in her life had she felt so stupid and immature than on that one, sunny morning.

It felt good for her to get out and fight with Piccolo. On the battle field, she was able to focus, and channel her hurt into power. It also confirmed her maturity to her. She was one of the strongest beings in the universe, and it was growing more and more obvious each day. She managed to keep her ki hidden from the others. It was a difficult challenge, to keep her ki so low while fighting, but in the end, it only served to increase her strength even greater. 

Piccolo had dropped her off at her ship half-conscious earlier that morning and said his goodbyes. He told her that she was strong, and would surely make her father and grandfather proud when they saw her. She thanked her teacher for his help, and then he left. 

She cared to her wounds, and ate breakfast after Piccolo left. Now, she was sitting on the stairs to her ship looking at the sky. She was searching for Trunks' ki, which was being well-suppressed, and she only had a few hours to find it.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks had gotten home late that day. He had spent most of his time just flying around, trying to escape. It didn't work though, everywhere he turned he saw her face. To add to his frustrations, he had to run into that strange little girl. It was weird, but what she said made him feel better. The pale-haired girl couldn't have been older than seven, and yet she seemed to have complex explanations for what he was going through. Such profound, yet innocent words, he could still remember them. 

When he got back to Capsule Corp, things were normal, which was surprising. He had gone up to his mother and apologized for the earlier scene, but she just looked at him like he was insane, and denied knowing of such a scene. Sure enough, when he went outside, the landscape was normal. There were no holes in the ground made by his father's attacks on Pan. He ran upstairs to find some kind of proof in his room, but there was none. His sheets had been changed, and his floor cleaned up. He couldn't even pick up a hint of her scent in the air.

In the following days, he questioned his own sanity many times. No one remembered this mysterious phantom girlfriend of his, not even Goten or Marron. The only thing that kept him from losing his mind was the picture he had taken from her bedroom. It was the photo of the future him and her at that dance. 

He had spent these few days immersing himself in his work. His mother was shocked, to say the least, but he was actually _willing_ to get up and go to work, so she wasn't about to argue with him. Even though it was his summer vacation, she thought a few more hours in the office would do him good. He had been rambling on about some girl that he had been dating for over a month, and had spent the better part of that week adamantly arguing with his parents, saying that they had met her several times, and even knew her quite well. Bulma shrugged it off. Maybe that food poisoning they contracted had thrown him into hallucinations. She just kept telling him that she didn't remember any girl.

Trunks wasn't fairing too well at night either. The only dreams he had, were about her. The first night was the hardest. He wasn't regretting what he had said to her. He just missed Kara. The memory of their night together made for many sleepless nights following. Once and a while, he could barely make out the smell of apples and peaches on his pillow. He would fall into a trance, ready to jump out of his room, go back to her ship and beg for her forgiveness. However, he would remind himself that he was going crazy over little Panny, and the trance would end. The next morning, he always woke up feeling his usual, grumpy self.   

Now there it was, the last day of her visit, he knew. What was he supposed to do? He knew she would be hunting him down so he would forget her too, but he didn't want to forget. Truth was, he had grown to miss her over the days. He was still angry and hurt, but he was also very regretful of sounding too cold-hearted to her. He could… kind of understand why she wanted her identity kept secret. He also knew that if he were in her shoes, he would have handled it just as bad or worse than she did.

He felt trapped and frustrated as he laid there in his bed, yet to wake up. He didn't want her to leave while things were on such a bad foot. He didn't necessarily want to apologize to her, but he did feel extremely bad for handling the situation so poorly. If only there was a way to make it up to her…  

He jumped out of bed and got dressed within seconds. There _was_ a way he could see her again without it being totally awkward. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan held her head in her hands and she sat on the steps of her ship. She still couldn't sense Trunks' ki, and it was only a matter of hours until liftoff. Just as she was about to give up and go look for him the old fashion way, she finally felt his energy. In fact, it was very close, almost…

"I'm glad I caught you before you left." He said to her, standing a good ten feet away.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly.

"I came to see you off." Trunks stated.

"No thanks." 

"Okay… that's fair." He said, watching her stand up and walk over to him. Her eyes were cold and lifeless as she drew nearer, and she seemed to be hiding something behind her back. "Just give me a minute to explain myself."

"I don't want your explanations." She said, pulling the spray can from behind her back.

Before she could spray, he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. Not only did it cause her to drop her "weapon", but it was also keeping her from moving.

"Okay, I understand that." He said in her ear. "At least allow me to look over your ship, so you can rest assure you'll get home safely. It's the least I can do after trashing your room."

Pan sighed and relaxed against his grip. "Okay, but be quick about it."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The next few hours went quietly. Pan had locked herself in her room for most of that time, while Trunks inspected the outside for structural damage. Trunks' true objective, though was to smooth things over, but that couldn't be accomplished without talking. Trunks even attempted to get her to come out of her room by telling her that he needed to check over a system in her bathroom. She merely walked out of her room and out of the ship. Either way, she was almost always out of earshot.

As the clock ticked, Trunks worked. He honestly _did_ check her ship's systems. He didn't think he could live with himself if she didn't get home safely. Plus, he knew it must have been hard for her to travel for so long completely alone. With her rambunctious attitude, it must have meant major cabin fever.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The moment approached. "Two minutes until lift off." The computer warned, snapping Pan out of her daydreaming. She jumped out of her bed and ran out the door to find Trunks, carrying her spray with her.

He was over by the small lake, washing his hands of the grease that he had smeared on himself. He smiled a little when he saw her run out of the ship. He was hoping she was wanting to talk to him. His hope vanished, however, when he saw her determined face, and the can she held at her side.

"What's wrong?" He asked, seeing her look worried.

"Nothing, it's time for me to leave. Are you done checking the ship?"

"Yeah, I'm done, but I was hoping…"

"Look Trunks, I know you came here to make some kind of reconciliation, but that's not going to happen. You did what you did and there's nothing you can do to change that. You should feel vindicated though. I now know what it feels like to give your heart to someone, only to have them throw it away."

"Pan, I'm not asking for your forgiveness, and neither am I willing to give you mine. I'm still angry and hurt by you. I'm not taking back anything I said a week ago, I'm merely apologizing for making it so hostile. On the other hand…"

"Fine then. You win. When I get back, I will make sure that we are no longer friends, or even associates. If you never talk to me again, I'll be fine with that. As far as I'm concerned, I'd be happy if I never saw your face again." 

"Pan…"

"Goodbye." She said.

Trunks saw the spray can come up from her side. He didn't resist when he saw the tiny droplets of the formula coming toward him. Instead, he almost welcomed them. As he became disorientated, she ran back to her ship, never looking back. Her only concern was that he would see the ship take off, but hopefully, it wouldn't affect the timeline too much.

He shook his head as he felt the stingy liquid enter his eyes. It felt like he had just had a billow of smoke blown into them. Unfortunately, he lost his balance, and ended up in the lake. Seizing the opportunity, he washed his eyes out, getting rid of the stinging sensation. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he looked up, just as a strange looking ship flew overhead. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan had the monitor pointed downward, so she could see him disappear along with the earth below her. She was alone now, and would be for a while. She wasn't sure if it was the gravity, or the thought of being alone, but something made her start crying. Maybe it was simply that she wanted her sweet nightmare to end.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks watched the ship disappear into the sky. "What the…?" He started. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a soggy picture. It was a snap shot of him bowing to a beautiful girl and kissing her hand. He smiled softly, and almost started laughing as it hit him. "Your formula didn't work. I remember you Panny."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

So? What did you think? It's too long, I know! Grr… and can you believe this is after I cut nearly two pages of material off of it? Thanks for the truckload of reviews for chapter 11! I'm… happy you liked it! Anyway, there is one more chapter… I think. I won't know for sure until I actually start it. Oh well. I'll get it out sooner than I did this one, unless I get sick again and Christmas magically repeats itself. = Þ 

Author's Note #1: It's really sad when your author's notes are almost as long as your chapter. Anyway, the 'True Love Waits' program is an excellent program. HOWEVER, is it geared toward the Christian belief. There are several similar programs for many different beliefs out there, I just don't have the time to look. Due to the rise in teen pregnancy and spread of the AIDS virus, people all over the world from many different backgrounds and religions are taking this pledge and others like it. It's a wise decision I encourage everyone to think about. Look for programs that fit into your cultural belief, and don't be afraid to take the step. I don't mean to sound preachy, but as a teenage girl, this is something I feel very passionate about.    

**Author's Note #2: Here's another one. (I hate author's notes. I promise, there will not be anything else but the disclaimer, a small paragraph saying what I want to say, and the actual story in the next chapter.) The little girl Trunks was talking to is a character created by TrinityBlue. There's a side story that will be posted on my site soon, that will go into further detail written by Trin. Silk is the name of the character, she's adorable! If you're a TB fan, you'll remember her from the fanfic "Love and Ranks" as being a baby. Anyway, that's all I'm going to say for now. Trinity wants her character's story kept "hush, hush" at the current moment. She has yet to write Silk's story down. But when she does, I guarantee you'll love it! Keep a look out for Trin's story and the side story that will be posted on my site if you want to know more about this amazing little girl.**

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	12. Chapter 13a

**Title:** Waiting (Chapter 13)

**Author:** The Noseless Wonder

**Disclaimer:** If I owned them, I would most likely be doing something rather than writing fan fictions about them. Yep, all I own is the car outside my window and the Trunks blanket that's keeping me warm at this very moment. So don't sue!

**Author's Note:** Ag! It's almost done! I can't believe I'm about to finish this! And after only a year in the making! There will be an Epilogue though, but it will be short. Sorry this is late. I owe a HUGE thanks to Presea of "The Trunks and Pan Archives" for this. Not only has she stayed up until INSANE hours with me making sure I finished this thing, but she's also given me a ton of ideas. (Not to mention the lines that I blatantly took from her) Anywho, you can thank Presea for this chapter being out so soon. If it weren't for her G.I. treatment and boot-camp for fic authors, I might have taken another month or so with it! Thanks!

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The light tapping of a pen on a paper pad was all that could be heard throughout the lonely vastness of her spaceship. Space was too quiet for her. No matter how hard she tried to fill her time in the company of noise and ruckus, nothing was working. In the end, the false sense of company would leave her… and she would be lonely again. 

Pan laid on the bed stomach down. Her arms were crossed and laid in front of her, her chin rested against them. It was a hard and bony pillow, but it succeeded in propping her head up, which was all she needed. A pad of stationary was in front of her. It was still void of words, yet little doodles and scribbles littered every inch of the light blue sheet that was on top. 

She wasn't really paying any attention to writing in her journal anymore. She had spent hours, maybe even days trying to come up with the right words to describe what she was feeling. However, nothing came to her. Sure, a couple of mixed up sentences and choppy expressions were written down, but they were nothing that could've ever done her emotions justice.

She wanted to write… to Trunks. There were so many things that she needed to say to him, and yet few words would truly illustrate what she needed. From the moment she got back on the ship, she knew that she never wanted to see him again. Pan could live out her life content if she were never more cursed with having to gaze into his azure depths and drown in the warmth of one of his small smiles and welcoming glances. She had enough of him when she was in the past. She had seen more than she ever needed to see, and she was paying for it through her conscience. It was at such a point where she couldn't even look at her lavender belongings without feeling an intense pain well up inside her head and stomach.

No… she could live without him. She would easily live life without feeling so helpless and susceptible to his charm and whit. He would never again be able to sweet talk his way out of trouble with her. No… she didn't even want to be in the same room with him again. She had seen what he was capable of and he had clearly expressed to her how he felt. If he didn't want her… then she wouldn't allow herself to want him either… even if it meant denying herself of all the joy he brought to her life.

Pan's conscience kept gnawing at her. If she was going to abandon their friendship, the relationship they had spent her entire life building, then shouldn't she at least explain it to him? It's not like she would ever see him again, she would make sure of that. Did he deserve to know what had happened during those two months?

The very prospect of getting him out of her life forever was the only thing driving her to write such a letter. If she had guts… true Saiyan courage… then she would tell him face to face, but she knew she didn't. Writing letters was the easy way out. There was no direct two-way conversation that way and he couldn't question her about anything. On the other hand, it would allow for her to be able to communicate everything she needed to on the first try without having to worry about not being able to find the right words. Yes… she would tell him everything with words written down on paper. There would be less heartache that way, which she had enough of while on her little excursion. 

The loss of words came quickly, however, as soon as she put the tip of the pen to the stationary. Pan hadn't the faintest clue of how to tell him what she needed to. Basically, she needed to convey everything that had happened from the ice cream parlor to the family get together at Capsule Corp. Then, she would simply explain that because of the poor feelings she still harbored for him, she thought it best if they were never to talk to one another again. The idea sounded so simple while it was swimming around in her imagination, and yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the right words to do the job. 

Pan sighed and plopped her head downward onto her bed. Frustration overwhelmed her, making her want to scream, hit something and break down crying all together. Her eyes fixed on the window next to her bed. She wasn't sure why Bulma put a window there. It wasn't like there was anything out there to see anyway. 

Stars slowly passed by in the distance, yet it appeared as if she wasn't moving at all. The universe appeared cold and lifeless to her at that moment, yet the black vacuum that was outside her small craft was home to countless species of beings, some sentient and some not. It was hard for her, hard for _anyone_ to believe that a planet full of so much beauty such as earth could be part of such an endless, dark void that seemed to only want to take life away rather than give it.   

She gave up on staring at the nothingness outside of her window. Instead, she rolled over and put her head on a pillow as she stared at the ceiling. She would rather daydream… fantasize about watching the sunset, and what the flower covered hills near her house looked like in the beginning of Spring. Cabin fever was already threatening to drive her insane, but she wasn't even to the wormhole yet. She didn't know how much longer it would be, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get home.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks stood on a rock while staring intently at the watery depths that rested below him. His brow was furrowed as if he was trying to decipher a master code, or trying to single-handedly balance the company's financial records. His hands rested contentedly on his hips as he searched the surface of the murky pond for anything shiny, or familiar in appearance. He knew he would eventually have to jump into the pond, he was just trying to withhold the inevitable. He had already landed in it once that week, so he knew how cold it was. This particular lake was fueled by a waterfall which was derived from the cold, mountain springs that rested fifty or so miles north of there. The river which it fed from was shaded mostly by the trees of the forests which covered the area. To say that this lake was cold was an understatement.

Grumbling and muttering self-curses under his breath, he took off his shirt. His boots and socks were next, but only after an intense struggle that nearly caused his to fall into the pond anyway. His stomach and chest expanded as he took in deep breaths, attempting to stretch his air capacity temporarily so he could stay under water longer. His toe was placed at the edge of the water, sampling the temperature so he could brace himself for it. Immediately he recoiled, goose bumps spreading rapidly across the surface of his skin.

"Why did I have to pick such a cold pond to throw the ring in?" He asked aloud in a very whiny voice, one he often used on his mother in attempt to get a day off of work. He braced himself for the impact of the ice cold water and took a step back, ready to jump into the pond's chilling depths.

"Trunks!" Yelled a voice, momentarily saving him from what was sure to be his icy death.

Trunks turned around in time to see his little nine year-old sister and Panny running toward him. "What are you two doing all the way out here? Does Mom know you're out this far?" 

"Yep!" Chirped Bra. "Momma sent Poppa to come and find you, but Panny and me wanted to come too, so he had to fly with us."

"Then where's Dad?" He asked.

"He's back towards the edge of the forest. He wanted to see if Bra could find your ki." Pan explained. "Ms. Bulma would have a cow though, so you'd better not tell her."

"Yeah, no kidding." He said quietly. "Look, I'm busy right now. Tell Mom I'll be back in a little while."

"But Ms. Bulma was really mad. She said you forgot to go to work today." Panny told him.

"I didn't forget, I was just hoping she wouldn't notice." He mumbled. "I'll be back after I find what I'm looking for."

"What are you looking for?" Panny asked.

Trunks eyed the young girl, an idea popping into his head. She was the adventurous kind, after all… Trunks bet she would have a ball searching for a "sunken treasure" such as the ring. "Well, clumsy me… I accidentally threw a diamond ring in this lake and I need to find it."

"Oooh… A diamond ring?" Panny asked with the utmost interest.  

"Why did Momma let you buy a diamond ring?" Bra asked, suspicious as always.

"Um… I didn't buy it. I was keeping it safe… for a friend." He covered. "And now I need to get it back in a hurry. Will you guys help me?"

"Yeah!" Pan shouted. "What about you Bra?"

"Yuck! That water's gross!" the older girl replied, plopping down on a rock to wait.

"Okay then, I guess that means Panny gets to have all the fun." 

"No Trunks! You have to come in with me!" Pan whined. 

Trunks rolled his eyes, accepting the fact that he wasn't going to get them to do all the work after all. "Okay, fine." 

Pan plopped down on the ground and practically tore off her boots. She carefully laid her bandana nearby, then wasted no time in jumping into the cold lake. Trunks watched in amazement as Panny resurfaced with a huge smile on her face, her big eyes showing obvious excitement at this adventure. How is it that she could be so tolerable to something so cold? Trunks frowned and took a leap forward, directly into the small lake. He resurfaced yelling and splashing around, stunned at the abrupt cold. Panny merely giggled at his silliness.

"J-just l-l-look for s-s-s-something in… in a b-blue box, or s-s-s-something sh-sh-shiny." Trunks said while his teeth chattered.

Pan nodded happily and dove underneath the surface. Trunks followed. It took them little time to find the ring. While Pan was on her third trip down from getting more air, her foot got snagged in some seaweed. Trunks saw her get trapped and swam over to blast her free. When he did, sand went flying everywhere, causing the previously covered ring box to be revealed. The velvet had completely worn off, thanks to the sand and the water, but the metal casing the material covered was still intact, holding the ring firmly in its place. Trunks saw the gleam of the metal almost immediately and grabbed it.

He resurfaced, a large grin plastered on his now blue lips, thankful to know that his investment was still safe. Trunks levitated out of the water, and onto the dirt banks where the rest of his clothes were. Pan struggled a little bit, worn out from her effort.

"I-I-I'm glad you got your r-r-r-ring back." Pan said happily while shivering.

Trunks looked back at her. Her skin was pale and her lips had a bluish tint to them. She looked almost sickly, but it was obvious she was just freezing. 

"Are you okay Panny?" Bra asked.

"Yeah! I'm just cold." 

Trunks took a look at the small pile of clothes. The only thing she wasn't wearing was her shoes and bandana. She didn't have anything dry to put on. Trunks sighed and picked up his shirt and jacket. "Panny, take off your shirt." He ordered.

"I can't take off my shirt in front of you, you're a boy! Pervert!" Panny yelled.

"Fine, then put this black shirt over your red one and then take the red one off while you've got the black one on, but do it quickly before you get the black one soaked too." He ordered.

Pan quickly obeyed, and was very relieved to feel the warmth of his dry shirt. Then, Trunks took his tan jacket and wrapped it around her too. She topped off her look with her bandana, which was already wet from the water left on her hair. Trunks couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Panny in clothes that were so big on her, they went down to her knees.

"It isn't funny!" Pan yelled.

"Okay… okay… Do you need me to carry you?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine!"

"Trunks, can you carry me?" Asked Bra.

Trunks bent down and allowed Bra to climb on his back. Of course, she wrapped her arms around his neck as if her life depended on choking him, but he didn't mind so much. She was only beginning to learn how to fly, but at least she had gotten herself there. 

"Come on, Pan. Let's go." Trunks said as he hovered above the ground.

Pan struggled to lift off. She was still really cold. "Umm… maybe I'll just walk." She said, her Saiyan pride not allowing her to admit she needed help because she was too cold to fly.

Trunks smiled and lowered himself to the ground again. Without a word, he swooped her up in his arms and took off. Pan wanted to protest, but she really couldn't. She was too comfortable in his arms, snuggled against his warm chest. 

With his sister clinging to his back, and the now comfortable Panny in his arms, Trunks headed back to Capsule Corp. As he was flying, he couldn't help but look down at the small girl who was bundled up in his clothes. She looked so much like her older self, it was scary. He felt a slight ache in his chest at the all too recent memory of their time together. He was more disappointed then words could express that he would never again see his love...

Then again, the little girl in his arms would grow up eventually… and there was something to be said for waiting…    

Trunks laughed the thought out of his mind. There was no way anything could _ever_ happen between him and that time's Panny. She was too much like a little sister.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan jumped out of the shower with a great velocity. She was so fast, only a rushing of wind and faint whistling could be heard. The water in the shower continued to spray down, even with the absence of its user, for she hadn't even had the time to turn the knobs off. She rushed into her bedroom, grabbing the only thing she had time to put on, which was one of Trunks' business shirts. After throwing it over her shoulders and only bothering to button a few buttons, she ran into the control room. Just as the computer sounded again, she strapped herself tightly into the consul's chair and hung on.

"Ten seconds until wormhole reentry." The feminine computer voice calmly warned.

Pan bit her lip and dug her nails into the seat of the chair she was sitting on. She was bound and determined not to pass out this time. In attempt to calm down, she did some deep breathing and focused on how annoying the computer's voice was as it counted down from ten, but it proved useless as the ship started shaking from the turbulence. She whimpered and forced her eyes open. She was in awe at the beauty of the swirling vortex around her, but it didn't last long. A slight dizziness caused her vision to blur. Within only moment, however, she felt her energy almost completely drain… which was probably a side affect of reverse time travel. Her last thought was of how she should've been recording what she saw… before she fell asleep quickly, her head rested gently against the seat back.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks checked his appearance in a mirror nearby before heading to the computer consul in the lab at Capsule Corp. He actually caught himself humming. Well… at least he had a good reason to. That day was the day he had been looking forward to for years. It was the day she would be coming back. He checked his watch one more time before sitting down in front of his blank computer screen.

In only a few seconds, a small green light and a coordinate grid appeared over the once blank screen. The little green light was the tracker on her ship. She made it through. Trunks smiled brightly as he let out a sigh of relief. He straightened his shirt collar one more time and initiated communication program via remote on her ship. 

A TV monitor slowly lowered itself from the ceiling. It went unnoticed by the ship's occupant who was still asleep. Trunks had a small panic attack when he saw what was on the screen in front of him. Pan was there, but it looked like she was unconscious. 

"Pan? Pan?! Wake up Pan!" Trunks said, suddenly fearing the worst. 

More panic rose in him when he realized for the first time that he had no idea what the affects were of going the other way through the worm hole. From that moment forward, he didn't have any knowledge of the future, which scared him to death. What if she had suffered some sort of head injury or…

"Pan, wake up!" Trunks yelled more desperately. 

"What?" Pan groaned, turning her head to the screen. 

"What happened?! Why were you unconscious?!"

"I don't know…" she started, pausing to yawn in the middle of the sentence. "I guess I just… fell asleep."

"You… fell asleep while you were going through the wormhole?"

"Yes." She answered plainly, trying to clear her head so she was coherent enough to talk to him, then hang up. He wasn't the first person she wanted to see after she got back to the future, but she _was_ expecting him. 

"Oh…" He answered, trailing off after he noticed what she was wearing… or more like what she _wasn't_ wearing. He could already feel the blood rushing to his head. He was afraid it was going to start coming out of his nose if he kept gawking at her like that. "So, did you run out of clothes or something?" He joked, in order to keep his calm exterior. Inside of him, however, his mind was reeling. 

Pan looked down at herself and blushed. Trunks' dress shirt she had been wearing wasn't buttoned all the way, and it was still damp due to the water on her hair from her shower. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, the blush that she already had on her face was getting redder. "I was in the shower when your computer warned me that the ship was about to go in the wormhole. If it would have given me more warning, I could have changed… and maybe I wouldn't have passed out like I did." She replied sternly and with a slight growl emanating from her throat. 

Trunks gulped. "Well, I…"

"Are my parents there?" She asked, cutting him off.

"No, I haven't called them yet. We didn't know when you'd be back."

"Then have them call back when they get here so they don't freak out about me. I'm going to go get dressed."

"Okay, I'll…" He was cut off by the screen going black. "She hung up on me!" 

Trunks shook his head and walked back to the phone to call Gohan and Videl. This little reunion wasn't going the way he was wanting it to at all.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Videl stood in front of the stove and gently pushed her now-graying hair behind her ear. With the utmost care, she stirred the pot that lay before her, gazing at it as if all the answers to her life's problems were held at the bottom of the stainless steal container, waiting to be discovered. Her brow was furrowed in concentration while her mind tried to figure out the trivial question of the task at hand… When would the carrots be cooked enough to put the rice in? 

"I didn't know soup could be so interesting." Said an abruptly loud voice from behind her.

She jumped slightly, but relaxed as she felt his large, strong arms circle her waist and rest gently on her hips. He put his chin lightly on her shoulder and chuckled in her ear, the heat of his breath sending goose bumps up and down her spine, despite the fact that she had been standing in front of a hot stove for the last hour.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" he asked soothingly.

"No, I just have a bit of a headache and I wasn't prepared to be assaulted by my husband." She said as-a-matter-of-factly, while cocking an eyebrow in hopes of gaining his playful interest. 

He chuckled again, this time lower, as if he was trying to seduce his own wife out of her apron. He leaned closer into her ear and in a very low, smooth voice whispered, "That wasn't an assault. If you want to see an assault, just wait until later tonight when Goku goes to bed. Then, I can show you something I learned from one of your women's magazines that will…"

"You read my women's magazines?!" Videl asked, slightly amused, but mostly surprised at his confession.  

"How _else_ am I supposed to know what you want? You never tell me." Gohan stated, earning a playful elbow in the ribs and a blush from his wife. "Besides, they're right about most of the advice they give. You know that thing I did the other night where we…"

"Gohan!" Videl quietly scolded, "Goku's in the next room and you know how strong his hearing is!" 

"Oh, don't worry about him, I put in a video for him to watch. That'll keep him busy for a…"

"If-you-like-to-talk with tomatoes! If-a-squash-can-make-you-smile…!" came a loud, off-tone and very young voice from the living room, interrupting every conversation within a mile with his volume. 

"…while."

"You put in Veggie Tales?!" Videl squealed, rubbing her head at the pain her young son's voice had inflicted on her.

"Well… why not?" He asked innocently, frowning as his wife tore herself from his embrace in order to get a bag of rice from the cupboard. 

"You know perfectly well why not!" She yelled louder, causing him to wince at the similarity her voice had to his mother's right then. "He always gets hungry after watching that cartoon!"

"But dinner's going to be ready soon and…"

"That's not the point! The point is he'll be in here every five seconds asking when dinner will be ready the moment that tape's over! He _is_ your father's grandson, you know." 

"Videl, why are you getting so upset?" Gohan asked, desperately trying to maneuver his way out of the trouble he didn't know he was in to begin with.

Videl turned and angrily opened her mouth, but once again, she was cut off by her incredibly untalented boy shrieking another song, "Oh wheeeeeeeere is my hairbrush?! Oh wheeeeeeeeeere is my hairbrush?! Oh…"

"Goku! Shut off that tape!" Gohan yelled a little too loudly, directly into his wife's unsuspecting ear.

"But Daddy…!"

"No 'buts'! You can watch it after dinner!" 

Videl groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose as the pain shot through her head. "Gohan… shut up."

"Sorry honey." He cringed, knowing that he got himself in even deeper than he was before. 

Not knowing what else to do, Gohan returned his attentions to his wife by rubbing her shoulders. Within mere seconds, her muscles went from feeling as stiff as wood to feeling like soft clay in his fingers. He smiled knowingly. You don't just live with someone for thirty years without knowing their soft spots. 

"Ooh…" Videl groaned. "You sure do know how to get out of trouble, Gohan."

He chuckled and moved southward on her back. She sighed and forgot about her soup for a few moments, allowing it to bubble over occasionally and evaporate with a sizzle after hitting the burner below. 

"Hmm…Gohan… You know, if you would do that every time I felt this stressed, you wouldn't have to worry about ever sleeping on the couch again."

"That would almost be worth…" Gohan started, before being interrupted by a high-pitched ringing.  
  
"I'll get it!" Goku Jr. screamed after hearing the phone ring. He ran into the kitchen and jumped on the chair, then picked up the phone with all the enthusiasm five year-olds are known for. "Hello?" He asked happily. "Umm… Yeah… No… I think so… No… No… Yeah… Uh huh… Really?!… Cool!"

"Goku, who is it?!" Gohan asked, growing impatient with his son's private conversation he was having with whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Trunks!" He answered.

Not having heard anything from Trunks since the day they had all finished training, Gohan forcefully grabbed the phone from the young boy, wondering if he was calling because of something with Pan. "Trunks, hi! What's going on? Really? We'll be there in a minute!"

"Gohan, what was that about?" Videl asked.

"That was Trunks."

"I know that! What did he want?!" 

"Pan's back."

Videl gasped and shut off the stove. She tore off her apron as Gohan grabbed their son and they were out the door in a flash. They didn't even bother with a car, they just took off into the sky, much to Goku Jr.'s delight. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks took another deep breath and turned the monitor on again. When no one answered the call, he looked around the room, using the moving option on the receiving side of his communicator. She wasn't in the control room. Without even giving it a second thought, he turned on the monitor that was in her bedroom. Fortunately for Pan, he happened to be looking at the keyboard and not the screen when her image popped up in front of him. 

"Ah! What are you…! Son of a…!" 

He looked up just in time to see a red-faced Pan covered only by her extra large bed pillow. His face was red too, but it wasn't necessarily from embarrassment. "Oh, Pan I…"

"What makes you think you have the right to just call me in my bedroom without asking permission first?!" she shrieked. "No wonder you put a monitor in here!"

"No! Pan, I…"

Without listening, Pan picked up her other pillow and threw it directly into the monitor. "Perv!" he heard her yell, just before the screen went black.

Trunks collapsed his upper body onto his desk, purposefully hitting his head hard on the less-than cushioned wood surface. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"  He repeated after hitting the desk with his head repeatedly. 

It was only a second later when Gohan and Videl ran into the lab. After welcoming the frantic, young family and discovering that Pan had returned without her son telling her about it, Bulma quickly followed them into the lab, only to find Trunks looking solemn with his head down on the desk.

"Where's Panny?!" Gohan shouted, causing poor Trunks to jump practically ten feet in the air. 

"Is she okay?! What's going on?!" Bulma asked, with almost as much desperation in her voice as Gohan had. 

"Relax! She's… just… getting dressed." Trunks answered reluctantly.

Sighs of relief could be heard coming from both Videl and Bulma. Gohan allowed the muscles that he had been keeping tense for more than an hour to finally relax as he set his son on the floor. Trunks could actually spot the shadow of a smile on the two very alleviated parents. His mother, however, was still in a tense stance. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her face wore a questioning scowl that, in his entire life, had always sent him running for the hills in attempt to escape. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, trying his hardest to appear nonchalant in front of his very observant mother.

"Why is the monitor off now? Weren't you just talking to her?" Worry was still lacing her voice. It was the kind of sharp and frightened voice that Trunks had only heard her use once or twice in his entire life. 

"I just told you, she needed to get dressed." 

"Why couldn't she just leave it on and go into the bedroom to change?"

"I was talking to her on the monitor _in_ the bedroom. I had to turn it off so she could have her privacy." He said confidently, showing his mother the Presidential side of him that he was so famous for in the corporate world. He smirked proudly, when he noticed her softening look and was sure she wasn't going to reply. He thought she was going to back off and leave it at that… he was wrong.

"Since _when_ did you install a monitor in the bedroom?!" She asked. The worried tone had left her voice, but was instantly replaced by one that was almost childish and teasing.

Gohan's ears perked and he snapped his head up in alarm, not liking the correlation of the word "bedroom" in reference to Trunks and his daughter. Trunks noticed his glare from a distance while trying hard to swallow a very large lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.

"I… did it a couple years ago. You know, I thought she… I mean… whoever might travel in the ship would appreciate a communicator close by at all times and…"

"You mean so you could call a beautiful, young woman while she was in the middle of getting changed?"

"No! Mom! I…"

"Then why did you say she had to 'go get dressed'? Was she not dressed when you called her?"

"Mom," Trunks began, using all the severity that he could muster, knowing that if Gohan ever got wind of what his feelings about the young girl inside that small ship were, it would be the end of his life. "Pan was in the shower when the ship's alarm went off. _Someone_ didn't install an alarm that gave enough warning for her to jump out the shower and dress properly."

Bulma looked like she was about to counter with her patented angry-mother-attack-of-death for a moment, before calming. Her expression softened as she looked on apologetically towards her son. Trunks sharply, but quietly exhaled, releasing the breath he didn't know he had been holding. 

"I'm sorry honey." She said as she walked over and hugged his head in her arms.

"That's okay Mom." Trunks said hurriedly, trying to pry himself from her smothering embrace before Goku Jr. started laughing at him, Vegeta walked in, or he died from suffocation.

"I just… I'm so relieved that we didn't end up being solely responsible for her death. I mean… it was my fault that she fell in to the ship, my fault that the ship wasn't able to be turned around, my fault that she didn't wake up with more warning before she hit the worm hole, my fault that…"

"Ms. Bulma, it wasn't _your_ fault." Videl said, walking over and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Accidents happen, especially in this family. Besides, this isn't exactly the first ship she's been on that she wasn't supposed to be."   

"It wasn't really anyone's fault… and I'm sure Pan did just fine being by herself for two months." Gohan confirmed.

"Yeah, if you're going to blame anyone, blame Goten." Trunks joked happily, only to look up and face three angry adults who were all glaring at him. 

With all they had been through recently, Gohan really couldn't see the humor in that statement. "I'm sure I you asked her, Panny would say she had a blast doing something so adventurous on her own." He said, switching the subject off of Trunks' poor humor.

"Speaking of asking Panny…" Trunks said, attempting to regain what little dignity he had left. "She's probably dressed by now… if you want to call her…"

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan sat silently in the consul's chair in the control room. She was dressed now, and was waiting for him to call her back with some news on her parents. Her face was still flushed from embarrassment and anger… but was it anger at him, or towards herself? '_What was his problem anyway?_' She thought angrily. _'What is **my** problem?'_

When this momentous trek of hers had first commenced, she had been scared. She was being forced out by herself into nothingness, and made to live there for two months on her own. If this had been a purposeful test of her will, she would have failed it, hands down. 

From the day she took off, Trunks had been there with her, comforting her and coddling her until it seemed as if he was right there along with her in the ship. Nearly at the moment she landed, she ventured out where she knew she wasn't supposed to be, conversing with the wrong people. Only she could be so callous as to risk the safety of her own universe for the sake of not being alone. 

"Was it worth it?" She asked herself.

Inwardly, her mind and heart were still in a slight panic. She had been feeling nauseous recently. She wasn't sure, but she was hoping against hope that the stomach ailment was coming from stress and that she wasn't pregnant, or inflicted with some… Saiyan version of an STD. 

"That would be the perfect ending to this little story, wouldn't it?" She spitefully laughed at herself.

She could imagine going home and having to announce to Trunks and her family that she was pregnant. She could picture in her mind the looks on their faces as they asked the humiliating, yet justified questions that would come from her parents and anyone else who happened to be in the room. _'How could you be so stupid? Where exactly did you think this fling of yours could go? When did he find out you were Pan? Before or after he took you into his bed?'_  She pictured the disappointed looks on their faces. Sure, after some time, they might grow supportive. Videl, Bulma and Chichi might actually start looking forward to the birth of their new grandchild, but there would always be her father… wearing a superficial smile, trying to act like he had forgiven her, when in reality, all he could think about was her failure.

Then, there was Trunks', who was another story all together. _'How could you do this to me, Panny?'_

How was she to answer him? How was she supposed to tell him she was going to have his baby? She wasn't even sure that he could ever be attracted to her, his little Panny, on any physical level, and yet, she very well might end up baring his child.    

"You don't know if you're pregnant yet." She told herself, trying to calm the nerves that had resurfaced abruptly.

Even if she wasn't pregnant, she wouldn't be out of the woods with this thing… but it would certainly make life a whole lot easier. There was still the factor of Trunks. In the last week in space, she had been planning… trying to come up with something decent to say to him. Around the sixth day of being alone, she finally switched tactics. Every time she saw him, _especially_ if he was with another woman, she would have to face her feelings and memories of the past two months. For the rest of her life, she was doomed to relive her personal nightmare over and over again without _ever_ getting the chance to share it with anyone. Every time she saw something purple, or stared into a stranger's blue eyes, she would be forced to live over the guilt that plagued her.

Sure, some people might say that was being obsessive… but that's what this whole thing was to begin with. From the moment he first held her in his arms as a baby, it had become an obsession with her… and attraction that grew and grew over time.

 She really couldn't prevent that from happening, for it had happened all ready. All that Pan could really do was except that fact that she had fallen for the same pair of azure eyes that the other two-thirds of the world had. She was just another member of his fan club… and even if she were to give birth to his child, that's all she knew she ever would be.

So… the determined, stubborn, prideful Panny simply gave up on her predicament. When she got home, she decided, she would distance herself from him, even if it meant distancing herself from Bra, Bulma and her ex master Vegeta as well. She didn't know if she could live with her secret while being so close to all of them. Besides, Pan had seen the real side of Trunks. He was a regular heartbreaker, she knew, but she had no idea he could be so ruthless at it. And to think that man had the _gall_ to call her in her bedroom while she was trying to get him out of her mind and get dressed at the same time!

Pan sighed and sank into her consul's chair further. Then again, maybe she just wanted to avoid him because of the guilt she was feeling towards her own actions. Still, it pissed her off that he would think so lowly of her, he would call her _the moment_ she got back. He probably thought she needed a babysitter or something.

"Or maybe he just wanted to get a peek at my…"

The monitor in front of her clicked on, suddenly interrupting her thoughts.

"Haven't you seen enough?!" She yelled, expecting to see the natural born scowl of the peeping tom himself. Instead, however, the screen fazed in and the grinning face of a young boy appeared before her. 

"Hi Panny!" He chirped.

"Goku!" She shouted joyously. "What are _you_ doing calling me on this?"

"Mom and Dad said I could surprise you!" He quickly defended, wanting to get out of any trouble he might be in.

"Where _are_ Mom and Dad?" Pan asked, not seeing anything in the monitor past her little brother's big head.

"I'm five now!" Goku said happily, switching the subject for no apparent reason.

"I know that! Congratulations! So where are Mom and Dad?" 

"Did you get me anything for my birthday?" 

"Yes I did, but you'll have to wait until I get home to see it."

"Awww…" the little Goku groaned.

"It won't be too long from now. Can you go get Mom and Dad for me?" 

"What is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you!" Pan said, laughing lightly at how innocently frustrating he was being. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"What does it look…"

"Goku…" Said a disapproving voice from behind him.

A gasp of slight surprise was the only thing more that could be heard from the young Saiyan as a giant arm suddenly wrapped around his waist and carried him off of the table he was sitting on. Pan smiled as she looked through the monitor at her father gently putting her brother on the floor. Goku turned around, a look of disdain was on his face which caught his look-alike father off guard.

"What's that look for?" Gohan asked in a tone that he only used when someone was about to get into trouble.

"You interrupted us." Goku said.

"Does that mean you can look at me like that?" Gohan stated sternly.

"No…" Goku admitted in a whiny voice, now seeming more sad than anything else. "But Momma said it was rude to interrupt people… and I wanted to see Panny… and… and…" 

Gohan's hard expression softened as his son's face suddenly became red and filled with tears. "Goku…"

"You deal with your child and I'll deal with mine." Videl said with a wink as she picked up Goku and carried him in to the room.

Gohan smiled at his wife… silently thanking her. He sat down quietly in the chair which rested in front of the communicator where Pan was watching. Gohan took a good look at his daughter before speaking. She looked so… different. "Panny? Are you okay?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, Daddy. I'm fine." She answered. "I'm homesick though."

Gohan smiled as he felt his heart warm. It had been a long time since she had used the term "Daddy" with him. He guessed it was just one of those weird feelings that parents get towards their children at random. Something still didn't seem right though. He looked her in the eyes, hoping for the ability to see right through her and determine what was wrong in her life like he used to when she was little. When he did, she turned her head to the side, as if to avoid being seen through. 

"How come I don't believe you?" He asked. 

"Because you're being overprotective. I'm fine." 

Her voice failed to convince him that nothing was wrong… but he dropped the subject, thinking that maybe it was only the stress of having journeyed across time. "So how was your trip?" He asked lightly.

She chuckled, "Incredibly boring. It's too bad Bulma picked such a dull time for me to go back to. I think I would have rather gone back to the time of Buu… or Cell… someone interesting."

Gohan laughed, "You probably could've kicked their butts in a matter of seconds. Of course, Buu would have been a little tough, but at least you wouldn't have been bored."

Pan smiled and looked up at him. Gohan had to do a double take when he saw her face. She was wearing a smile, but her eyes showed something else. _'Is that pain?'_ He thought, his fatherly instincts kicking in.

"Dad, make sure Grandma Chichi doesn't throw a party for me or anything for me when I get home. I just want to get home and into my own bed, but knowing Grandma and Bulma… they'll throw the biggest bash in town to celebrate."

"Okay, I'll tell them to go easy on the festivities."

"Thank you." She said, very relieved. "So where's Goten?"

"Oh, I called him on the way over here on my cell phone. He told me not to tell you anything, but he said he's planning a surprise for you… as sort of an… apology."

"He is?" Pan asked. "What kind of a surprise?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me anything. He just said to make sure you have a couple of days free after you get back. He said he might not get the chance to talk to you before you get back home."

"Oh… that's okay." She said, rather disappointedly.

"Pan…" Gohan began.

"Hmm?"

"Why won't you tell me what's really going on with you?"

Pan let out an exasperated sigh. "Dad, _nothing_ is wrong! I told you that!"

"Does this have something to do with Goten?"

"No…"

"Me or your mother?"

"No, I…"

"Your grandmother?"

"Dad!"

"Trunks?"

Pan growled and threw her hands up in the air. "Dad, please…" She started, before interrupting herself and changing tactics, "Yes, it is. I'm upset because he put a monitor in the bedroom and then called me while I was getting dressed. It's embarrassing." _'That ought to get him to shut up.'_

"Oh, well… I'm sure it was an accident." Gohan defended. 

"I know Dad. I'm just a little angry."

"Oh… okay. Well, is there anything you want me to tell your mother?"

"Just tell her that I'm doing fine…" Pan said before adding, "Oh, and tell her she'll be pleased to know that I'm kind of getting used to this 'skirt' thing. I might grow to like them after a while."

"Hehe… okay. Pan, hurry home." 

"I will. Bye Daddy." She said as she turned off the monitor.

"Bye…" Gohan said quietly to a blank monitor.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan collapsed onto the floor after she turned off the monitor. She was so homesick now, that she was actually feeling physically ill. "I want to go home." She said quietly, before getting up and heading back into her empty bedroom. Just another seven days… 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

After talking to both Trunks and Bulma for a bit, Gohan and Videl went back home. Of course, dinner had been ruined since they had rushed out the door, so they picked up something on the way back to their house. After their late meal, the three-fourths family settled down for the night.

Videl stood in the bathing room, her silky night gown shimmering in the light from the vanity mirror. With her hands, she slowly caressed the night cream into the skin of her face, stopping every once and a while to inspect the lines around her eyes… as if to see if she could erase them from existence by simply stretching and gently stroking the skin around them. Her husband walked in behind her, wearing only a pair of sweat pants as pajama bottoms. "Is Goku finally asleep?" She asked, lightly admiring her husband's appearance in the mirror.

"Yeah, I just tucked him in." He answered quietly. "So how come he started crying all of a sudden back there?"

"Oh… he was just tired and hungry. You know how your family gets cranky when they've skipped a meal… "

"Ah…" He answered simply, his brow was furrowed in concentration as he stared at the counter below him, wondering silently where the longer hairs in his razor had come from as he studied its clogged blades.

"Sorry." His spouse said, startling him out of his preoccupied state of mind.

"Hmm?"

"I didn't get a chance to go to the store today and I had nothing else to use… so I used yours instead." 

"Oh…" He replied half heartedly. "That's okay."  

Videl eyed him suspiciously as he continued to frown and concentrate on the semi-useless razor. "You know… it takes you months to grow any sort of stubble anyway. I don't know why you keep that thing around."

"Hmm… yeah." He quietly agreed.

"Are you even listening to me anymore?" She asked a little louder.

"Huh? Oh, sorry honey. What were you saying?"

Videl let out a sigh. "So what's on your mind _now_? I have a feeling it has nothing to do with shaving."

"Ah… it's nothing." He denied.

"Liar."

"It's just… well… You might think I'm crazy, but…"

"But what?"

"Did Pan seem… different to you?"

"I don't know. I was with Goku, remember? I didn't get to see her."

"Oh…" Gohan said quietly.

"What do you mean 'different?'"

"It's nothing. Never mind."

"Gohan, you're being disconcerting." Videl said, frustration evident in her voice. "What's wrong? How was she different? Don't worry me about her anymore. I want to know that she's safe."

"It's just… for a moment, while I was talking to her… I could've vowed to anyone that she looked sad. Not only that, but her attitude's changed. She was just… different." Gohan looked over at his wife, and sighed in disappointment at not being able to clearly convey what he was saying. She was giving him a weird look, so he knew she hadn't a clue about what he was talking about. "And now my own wife thinks I'm crazy, doesn't she?"

Videl chuckled, mostly in relief,  "No, honey. You're just talking about father's intuition."

"Oh really?" Gohan asked, semi-sarcastically. "And I thought only women had parental, psychic abilities."   

"Well, you're wrong." She said, playfully poking him lightly in his bare chest. "You know that little voice inside your head that tells you which new boyfriend is going to break her heart? And when to stay away from her during certain days in the month? Well, it's the same thing."

"Na… I think that's just experience talking. After all, she hasn't exactly been the luckiest in love… and I've trained in the art of knowing what days of the month to stay away from you and my mother too. That skill was merely acquired for sake of survival."

"Uh huh…" Videl said, not sounding quite convinced. "I know of the father-daughter bond. I had one with my father once. You know, there was a time when he could _always_ tell if I had been hurt while training. No matter how well I managed to hide it, he would always guess what sort of injuries I had and how bad they were. Then, he would ground me from training. The next time I trained, if I was injured, I would try my hardest to hide it so I wouldn't get grounded again, but he could always tell."

"Maybe he just paid off his employees to keep an eye on you or something."

"No." Videl denied, a slight sadness in her voice. "This was before the days of his fame and fortune. Once he finally started making some real money, he forgot about me. I could've collapsed in front of him, or thrown my dismembered arm at him and he wouldn't have noticed. I guess all of the money, fame and women took his eyes away from me and we lost that father-daughter link."

Gohan gently wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry sweetie."

Videl smiled and hugged her husband in return. "Well… at least my son is a momma's boy. I'd like to have a close relationship with one of my children and since you've got our daughter, I guess I should be thankful I've got our son."

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked with minor amusement as he gently pulled away from her embrace to look at her. "Our children love us both equally and we loved them both the same too, right?"

"Of course! It's not a matter of love though, it's a matter of who gets along with which parent and when. I just happen to get along with Goku more because he _is_ such a momma's boy… just like his father."

"Well, Pan is… hey!" He interrupted his own words. "I'm not a momma's boy!"

"Uh huh." Videl agreed, being whole heartedly sarcastic as she walked into their bedroom.

"I'm not!" Gohan insisted, following her to their bed. "Well, not as much as I used to be."

"You keep telling that to yourself, dear." She got up on her tip toes and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek before turning off the light. 

"I could be worse, you know."

"Sure you could." Videl responded, the sarcasm in her voice never leaving.

"I mean, I switched careers against her will… That ought to say _something_ about me."

"Uh huh, but you're still a part-time scholar. You never really left the career your mother chose for you, so that doesn't count."

Gohan wanted to argue more, but as he looked down at his beautiful wife lying in their satin-sheeted bed, he chose otherwise. Deciding to finish the argument the next day, Gohan crawled in bed after her and attacked her with his affections. There were things he'd _much_ rather be doing than arguing about something so apparently wrong on her part anyway.  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Trunks stirred in his sleep as the vision of a nightmare danced through his head. It was a vision of the past… haunting him at every turn. In this vision, he felt shame, humiliation and the fear of his father as a horrible shadow loomed over him, taunting him. A high-pitched laughter of a young boy echoed in the background as he was made to do things and say things that should never come from the mouth of the son of Vegeta. This nightmare was not a very common one, but it reoccurred much more often than Trunks would have liked and it always sent him into a feverish cold sweat.  

His eyes twitched under there lids as his extremities moved out of reflex. Anyone who may have been observing could tell that he was dreaming… and suffering in the prison that his slumbering mind had created for him. In this prison, he relived the lurid dream, unable to wake from its terrifying grips… Forever caught in a cycle of mortification until the sleeper awoke.

_'It's a good thing mother and father aren't here to see me in drag.'_ Trunks said to himself in his dream, tripping over the hem of his dress as a large, blue, fish-like creature chased after him.

_'Treance dear! Treance dear! You make such a cute bride! But stop running or I'll be too tired for the honeymoon!'_ The creature yelled in delight while effortlessly catching up to the running Trunks.   

Realizing that he was getting nowhere, the disguised and very disgusted Trunks stopped in his tracks and allowed the large creature to pick him up in his hand. In a falsetto voice, Trunks spoke while adding an obviously fake, high pitched-laugh, _'Oh, lord Zu-nama, you caught me. I bet you can't do it again!'_

He quickly jumped out of the creature's hand and started running again. This time, he was using all of the strength and agility his lineage was known for. He even turned Super Saiyan just to gain some extra ground. It wasn't just his life that would be at stake if the big fish caught him. No, it was his pride that would suffer the most. Especially if Goku or Pan were to say anything to anyone back home about it. 

_'Treance! Treance dear, come back! Treance! Treance!'_

"Trunks! Trunks! Trunks, do you hear me?! Trunks! Wake up!"

Trunks jumped awake, startled by the very close voice of whoever was calling his name. "Zu-nama…!" He began, stopping after he realized the true owner of the voice was much more attractive and he wasn't really wearing a dress. 

A loud chuckle could be heard from the other side of the line. Pan struggled to keep her laughter to herself, but it was useless. The poor man sitting in front of her had been having the same nightmare for the past eleven years and it was all because of one of her stupid plans to earn a black-star dragon ball back from some villagers on some far-off planet. 

"It isn't funny, Pan." Trunks stated, knowing full well why she was laughing.

"_I_ think it is." Pan said, still lightly laughing. "There's got to be something about this in one of Freud's books on sexual dreaming. I bet deep down, you're secretly dying to get back into that wedding dress. Maybe it was the fish-monster Zu-nama. Perhaps, he left a mark on your heart?" 

"Shut up." He said with a glare, causing Pan to only laugh harder. "It was _your_ fault! I just wanted to go and beat him up or something! But noooooo… You had to come up with that stupid plan."

Pan had to wipe a tear from her eye after laughing so hard. The memories from that period of time that she held were sad and hurtful, but Trunks had always managed to cheer her up… even when he wasn't meaning to. 

"Okay, okay…" Trunks said, inwardly laughing with her, outwardly appearing as humiliated as the day it had happened. "So… why did you call?"

Pan sighed a bit… reality setting back in. "I… wanted you to give my parents and everyone else a message for me."

"And what message is that?" Trunks asked, slightly concerned with the sudden loss of the spark that her eyes had always held. Now, for some reason, her cerulean pearls had grown dull. "Pan? Is something wrong?"

"No! No…" She answered enthusiastically, fearing that he was worried about her well-being. "I… I'm simply asking a favor of you. See… I've gotten used to such privacy and I-I've grown attached to the quiet solitude of this ship. So, I was wondering if you could tell everyone not to contact me until I get back."

Trunks flinched, slightly taken-aback by her request. "Are you sure? When you left, you didn't want to be alone at all."

"I know, but I was scared then. Now I'm coming back home, and I want to enjoy the time I have by myself." 

"Oh… okay." Trunks regretfully agreed. "But will you call us before you land so I can tell your parents?"

"Yeah." Pan said. A small silence spread between them. Pan figured this signaled the end of their conversation. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you in a few days then."

"Pan, wait…"

"What's wrong?"

"I've got to tell you something before we hang up."

Pan pulled her hand away from the power button on the communicator's screen. She turned her attention to him once again, wondering where the solemn expression on his features came from. "What is it?"

"When you… w-were about to enter the worm hole… I said something to you, but I got cut off. I don't think you heard it."  
  


"No, I probably didn't."

"Well… I was going to give you this big, long speech about… about all that we've been through and how much both of us have grown through the years… b-but I ran out of time. Truthfully, what I had to say to you is very simple… It just… it'll just take some explanation… I guess. I finally worked up to it, then I got cut-off. I need to tell you, and I don't want to loose it this time too, so I'll…"

"Trunks, what is it?" Pan asked, getting slightly annoyed with his uncertainty, yet growing more curious and impatient by the second.

"I wanted to tell you that I l-lo…"

"Trunks!!" His sister screeched while walking into the room. 

"What?!" He snapped.

"Mom's mad at you and she's taking it out on me. Will you go see what's bugging her before she cuts off my allowance?!" 

"No! Can't you see I'm talking to Pan, or are you just really as stupid as you look?!"

"Shut up! You know, if Dad were in here, he'd…"

"Don't give me your 'Daddy's little girl' crap. I want to talk to Pan and I'm…"

"Trunks." Pan stated, once again earning Trunks' full attention.

"Yeah?"

"Go save your sister's fashion fund. Whatever you have to say can wait until I get back. We have time."

"But Pan, I…" 

"I'll see you in a few days." She said quietly as she severed the communications link between her and Trunks.

"But Pan…" Trunks quietly added after the screen went blank. 

He stood up very aggressively and walked over to his sister. He was very tempted to throw her into the nearest brick wall, but instead, he merely glared at her. In return, she stuck her tongue out at him, earning a loud growl from the throat of Trunks as he walked away to tend to his homicidal mother. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan sighed and sat down in the consul's chair. She enjoyed laughing with him. Even when she was bound and determined not to be as friendly with him, to practically hate his guts… he could still make her laugh. Their memories… they were nice ones… most of them, anyway. 

The ones that weren't happy nearly tore her apart… like the death of her grandfather and watching Trunks get turned into steel… thinking he was dead. They had been through so much together. Was it even possible to leave their friendship behind?

There were only a small number of people in the universe who could understand her like he could. In fact, even her own parents and supposed "best friend" didn't know her like he knew her. Bra was nice, but she was so different. She seemed ashamed and completely ignorant of her ancestry. She was the only true Princess on the planet, and yet she seemed to often forget the royal blood that coursed through her veins and filled her heart. Plus, she was a flake, Pan knew, and that's what annoyed her the most. 

Her parents were the best parents in the history of the world, but they didn't quite understand her either. Her father… _he_ had gotten a taste… developed a hunger for the warrior's blood that filled his body. He had gotten a glimpse of the true power that all Saiyans were capable of. When that power exploded inside of him, there was nothing more important in the world. Pan had been old enough to witness a few of his high points. While training with his father one day, he had been challenged beyond what he was capable of. Of course, being the son of Goku meant that small obstacles such as the lack of power and strength while facing a more than worthy opponent could be overcome easily. 

That day, he had finally regained the ability to go Super Saiyan two. As he transformed, Pan remembered, a passionate fire of unparalleled intensity washed over him, and suddenly… suddenly he was a new man. The scholar in him was momentarily gone… replaced by a blood warrior… the son of a race long forgotten.  

Even long after that day, Pan could spot the embers in his eyes… remnants of the fire that once burned so brightly. Whenever the opportunity came to spar, Gohan occasionally joined in, whereas before, he would've simply watched… and remembered what it had been like. Unfortunately, that fire had been dulled by years of desk work, study and the raising of his family. Even in his prime, he often denied his power… seeking out his human half to fulfill his wants and needs. Even _he_ did not listen to the hard-beating lust his heart felt for a good fight.   

That was the kind of fire… the kind of lust for combat that burned inside of Pan. She seemed to be more Saiyan than her father and uncle combined. No, her father would never truly understand the Saiyan heart that beat within her chest. 

There was her grandfather Goku and Vegeta. They were her mentors… the only people on earth who would agree to a spar, no matter what the conditions, without need of an explanation. The only people on earth who could truly console her… and read her soul so intensely and accurately, simply by sparring with her… no words needed.  However, being full blooded Saiyans, they couldn't understand her human side and therefore, had no clue as to her occasional need for normality.

With her uncle being as consumed with humanity and as withdrawn from his father's lineage as he was, that left only Trunks. Trunks… He was always there for a spar… more than willing to skip out of work for it. He was the kind of guy she could join in combat for one minute, than act like a normal person with the next.     

With all they had been through… all of the years they had spent growing together… their friendship had grown and grown. Pan had never realized before how close they really were. She silently wondered if he was as close to her as she was to him. 

Maybe what she was seeking was impossible. Maybe there wasn't any way to actually just cease their friendship. Maybe friendships like this were normal for Saiyans. Maybe it enabled them to form closer bonds to their fellow warriors… in order to develop a trust between them, developing deep enough to where they would gladly give their lives for that other person. 

In any case, Pan knew that this friendship of theirs had gone awry. It had long ago been tainted with droplets of stronger feelings. Feelings that may or may not have been right. Feelings that seemed to be immortal… never dying no matter how much she fought against them. Feelings that she knew he would never reciprocate. 

Perhaps it was time to kill these feelings off for good. If she were to land with her heart as weak as it was due to her experience in the past, then she would leave herself open and vulnerable. Surely then, these feelings would never go away and she would be doomed to live out her life as they haunted her, never truly giving her release, never allowing her to be happy. She had a week to defeat this enemy. It _had_ to be defeated… killed off for good this time. She silently vowed that when she landed and looked at the lavender-haired, living ghost who had haunted her, she would feel nothing but respect and honor for her fellow warrior, her friend… nothing more… nothing less…

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	13. Chapter 13b

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

A few days later, the Son's were invited back over to Capsule Corp so they could talk to their daughter again… only to find out that she didn't want to talk to them. Videl understood right away about why she wanted to be left alone for a while. After all, privacy was something that had become scarce for Pan once her little brother came into the picture. Plus, Pan was about ready to move out on her own. Actually, at twenty-five years of age, she probably should have moved out a while ago, but with Gohan's over protective nature and Goku's sudden reappearance, Pan had wanted to stay near her family.

Gohan immediately started assuming the worst about his little girl's emotional well-being and started asking his wife a million questions about why she would _want_ to be left alone. Videl just told him that every woman needed a little 'alone time' once and a while and that he should be happy that she's mature enough to take care of herself.

Of course, Bulma invited them to stay for dinner, but only after slapping her son on the back of the head for not informing Pan's family of her request earlier. Videl and Chichi both helped cook the extra-large meal while the men… err… _most_ of the men set up the dinner table. When they were done with their very large, extensive meal, they all went into the living area and relaxed with each other, striking up conversation about every day life and its hardships over coffee, wine and beer. 

"So how's business, Goten?" Gohan asked his brother.

"Busy… very busy. We're adding another instructor to the team, though, so that should lighten the load."

"That's good."  
  


"It'll require a slight pay cut for the rest of the instructors, but I think we can all afford it… especially with the large amount of new students that are signing up for the next year. We're graduating six masters this year, twelve black belts and dropping a few intermediates who couldn't take the heat any longer, but we're bringing in forty new students, most of which have never even put on a gi before."

"Heh, that sounds like fun." Trunks scoffed sarcastically. 

"Well, you could always come and help." Goten hinted.    

"Why don't you, Trunks?" Bulma asked. "I'm sure they could use the extra experience, and it's not like you're too busy with work or anything. You haven't even been into the office since last weekend."

"That's because Pan…"

"That's no excuse." She scolded, "I think you should go help Goten with his dojo. That way you could get a little exercise and help out a friend at the same time."

"Mom, I've got other stuff to do."

"Like what?"

"Like run our business… as I've been doing."

Bulma laughed lightly, "And what could you have possibly gotten done in the last week?"

A classic 'Vegeta' smirk crossed his features, and by the look on his mother's face he knew she was aware that smirk meant 'inevitable defeat', but he continued anyway, "Well, I've hired a new secretary, signed off on another bonus for the employees in the research and development department, settled a near-strike with our factory workers, bought out Willpower Electronics and their affiliates, negotiated an agreement to begin advertising our 'softer side' with the larger network's news stations, broke ground at our site for the new, Western Head Quarters, over-sought the production of our new Briefs Air sneaker line, hired that TV soap opera star to be featured in our commercial spots for the new shoe, fixed the bug that was plaguing our Model-C0912 air car, spent an hour cooped up in a small room with that very smelly CEO from Light Technologies, just so we could come to an agreement on what to do with the shortage of workers on our assembly lines, as a part of our agreement, I went out on a date with the daughter of said CEO, who by the way is the ugliest woman on the face of this planet and smells just like her dad, I trained with father for more than two hours every morning, corrected a very disgusting problem we were having with our garbage disposal, washed my car… and… what else? Oh, I bought a puppy."

"Where?!" Bra asked, popping up from her seat and looking around the room for a small dog.    

"She's not coming for another week or so, and she's not yours, so relax." 

Bra stuck out her bottom lip and disappointedly plopped back down in her seat. "Daddy, I want a puppy."

Vegeta groaned, apparently ignoring her. How old was she supposed to be again?

Bulma sat while looking wide-eyed at her son. "Wow, so you _did_ get a lot done this week. So how much work do you do while you're at the office on a normal day?"

"He doesn't do anything." Goten stated.

Trunks opened his mouth like he was about to argue, but then he closed it again and simply smiled. It was true, his normal office day wasn't nearly as busy as the last week had been. 

"Well that's…" Bulma started before having her sentence interrupted by the ringing of their phone. "Excuse me."

The group sat in silence for a moment as Bulma went in to answer the kitchen's extension. Trunks listened carefully. Usually, when someone called, they were calling for him. 

"Trunks, it's for you."

"I'll take it in the office." Trunks said, getting up and walking down the hallway.

Bulma barely had the chance to walk back into the living room before Trunks came back out of the office.

"Well, that was short. So why did the bank need to talk to you?" Bulma asked, seemingly oblivious to their guests. 

"Oh, I just need to go in tomorrow and sign some papers verifying some charges that were made on my account."

"What kind of charges?"

Trunks looked around nervously at the group of people sitting in front of him. How was he going to explain this? "Mom, it's _my_ money."

A stern look almost immediately crossed Bulma's face. Trunks gulped, trying to find an excuse plausible enough for the group before him to buy. "It was just a couple hundred grand." He mumbled nearly under breath. However, not nearly quiet enough.

"_Just_ a couple hundred grand?!" She shrieked, having heard him perfectly "What on earth did you buy that could've cost you that much?! Have you been gambling again?!"

Trunks shrunk back in his chair, trying desperately to avoid confrontation… especially _this_ form of confrontation in front of the Son's. "Well… you know… there's the puppy…"

"That dog better be able to walk, talk and get a job if he cost a _couple hundred grand_!"

"Well, I also bought… a house."

"A house?!" Bulma yelled loud enough for the house to shake. "Where?! What would you need a house for?!"  
  


"A-about fifteen hundred miles or so south west of Central Capitol in the Chuuou Forests." 

"Hey, that's a lot closer to our place." Goten said. "That'll put you smack-dab in the middle of the country too." 

Trunks shook his head confirming Goten's statement and looked nervously back up at his mother. "Mom, I know it'll be quite a trip to work every morning… but I really want to do this. Don't you think it's time I moved out on my own? I'm thirty-nine years old."

Bulma's expression softened as she slowly walked over to her son. "But why so far away?" She asked, sadness lacing her every word.

"I just…" He paused searching his mind for every available excuse he could use except the real one. "Well, the realtor showed me the property and I fell in love with it." He lied.

Bulma put her hands up and cupped his face. "I suppose you're planning on moving out soon?" She asked sadly.

"Yep."  
  


"It's about time." Vegeta mumbled from the corner of the room.

"So what other things have you bought with all this money you've spent?"

"Just… you know… furniture, some stock, a pool, a new car, a couple of expensive dresses… uh… dressy suits, and I put a little away in a high-interest savings account for the future, just in case anything goes wrong with the company. I also put away enough away to support you for a year without having to worry if the company went down."

"Is there some reason you're putting all of this money away that you aren't telling me? Should I be worried about the business?"

"No! No, Capsule's doing fine. In fact, she's seen a ten percent decrease in production costs over the last month because of increased efficiency on the assembly lines." 

"Wow… That's very… responsible of you." Bulma added surprised, yet elated at her son's behavior.

From the silent portion of the room, Marron spoke up, "If I didn't know you better… I'd say you sound like a man who's getting ready to settle down."  
  


"I was thinking the same thing." Videl added, a suspicious look on her face.

"Wha… what do you mean?" Trunks asked nervously.

"You can't blame me for thinking that. After all, you're working harder, you've bought a place of your own and it's an actual _house_, you bought a dog, you've put money away for the future… this is all very untypical behavior for a man who once swore never to live conventionally. The only reason I can think of as to why you would go to so much trouble is because of a girl."

"You're insane, Marron." Trunks answered.

"No, I think she's right. So who's the lucky gold-digger?" Goten joked.

"There is _no_ girl." Trunks said as he placed his right hand in the air. "Bachelor's honor… there is _no_ girl."

Goten chuckled at his friend's favorite past time. He looked over endearingly at his wife as he remembered the time when he was able to make the 'bachelor's oath' along with his best friend. _'Trunks is fooling himself if he thinks he managed to trick everyone into believing that sorry tale. Marron was right. He's acting this way for a reason, and I'd bet my life that it's because of a member of the opposite sex. I wonder why I haven't met this mystery woman of his yet.'_

The group dropped the conversation and went on to another one. Apparently, Trunks had done a pretty good job of hiding the facts from his mother because she was engrossed in a different conversation within seconds. Trunks smiled to himself and sighed in relief. Almost on reflex, he stuck his hand in his coat pocket and began twirling the little blue box around, hidden from sight. Just a few more days…

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

She bit her bottom lip as she looked out the main window. There it was… exactly as she had left it, the comparatively small blue globe she had called home for so long. Pan continued to stare at it as the planet grew bigger and closer to her window ever so slowly. It would only be a few more minutes now. 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, extending her senses as far as they would go. Her breathing became deep as she concentrated, stretching her senses beyond the control room, outside of the ship, through the shrinking vastness of space between her and her home then over the earth. A smile traced her lips as she found them. She was amazed that she had been able to sense her parent's ki's over such a great distance. Especially since she they were keeping them suppressed. A short distance away, she felt her Uncle, Marron, Grandmother and Grandfather's ki's, plus Uubu's. They were all very close together, yet very small and barely sensible. Pan smiled again, knowing that her Uncle and Aunt were probably visiting because they knew she was coming today. 

She continued to search the earth, finding Vegeta, Piccolo and even Bra. They were all close together near Capsule Corp. apparently awaiting her return as well. Her smile slightly faded as she felt Trunks' ki just a little ways away, next to Bulma's. He was probably working again, totally forgetting that she was supposed to be back that day.

Pan shrugged it off and focused on getting the communicator back on line. She was amazed she could sense all of them from such a large distance away though. She wondered if her grandfather could do the same thing and decided it was probably the mysterious transformation she had undergone that had made her so sensitive to the ki's of the others.     

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Moments later, back on earth, several bangs and thuds could be heard as Trunks hurriedly ran into the kitchen. 

"What's wrong?!" Bulma asked her son, who was frantically searching around the room.

"Phone… I need the phone, where is it?"  
  


"Your sister's talking on it."

Trunks stormed into the living room where Bra sat on the couch contentedly chatting away. Without warning, he grabbed it out of her hand. 

"She'll call you back." He said to whoever happened to be on the other end of the line. 

"Hey!" Bra shouted. "Trunks, I was talking!"

  
Trunks waved her off as he dialed the number and walked into the other room.

"Gohan? Hi, it's Trunks. You might want to head on over. Pan's about to land."

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The ship's engines fired as it neared the ground, slowing the vessel to a safe speed in order to land. It touched down softly, the hydraulic landing gear hissing as it absorbed the shock of landing. The occupant inside the ship was nervous, clutching the arms of her consul's chair so tight, the metal bent in and was crushed under her stronger than normal grip. However, she was safe… and home after a two month long adventure into the unknown territory of the past.

Outside, the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Even Goku Jr. was completely silent as the ship landed a short distance away and slowed to a halt. The landing coordinates pre-programmed into the ship put it directly in the middle of the small area of open land outside of the home. The group themselves were all standing just outside of the rear screen door a couple hundred feet away. The booster rockets were pointed downward and scorched the grass before they burned out, leaving the ship to be held up by only its landing gear. The observers felt a slight warm breeze as the fire dissipated and the ship stopped.

For a few seemingly long moments, nothing happened. The birds around them began singing again, having been scared away by the loud boom the ship had made from its engines firing. Gohan nervously looked at his wife, afraid of what might have happened to the ship during reentry, _after_ Pan had contacted Trunks on the communicator. Even Vegeta had a comparatively interested and worried look on his face. Bulma had only seen that look on his face a few times in their life together and she was surprised that her husband cared so much for the grand-spawn of Kakarott. 

A large lump formed in Trunks' throat as some more quiet moments passed. Did the heat shielding hold up during reentry? Were the oxygen tanks intact? What if there had been some kind of hull breach? She could've been killed instantly without them knowing and her ki was too far suppressed to tell. All these things ran through his mind as he frantically tried to remember the schematics of the space ship and what could've gone wrong. Goten made a small noise in his throat, causing Bulma to jump due to the apprehension that had been built up by the period of silence. 

Finally, the hissing of hydraulics could be heard once again as the main door to the ship slowly descended to the ground. Relieved, Gohan exhaled loudly, not having realized he was holding his breath. A large smile crossed his lips as he lifted off the ground and flew the short distance to the ship. Of course, Videl and the others followed as a figure stepped out of the entry way. Without even landing, Gohan flew forward and swept his daughter into his arms, embracing her tightly. 

"Hi Daddy." Pan said, tears threatening to spill over as her father spun her around in the air.

"Pan…" He began, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words.

"Hmm?" She asked, pulling herself slightly away from his embrace.

"D-don't ever do that again! You had us scared to death!"

Pan laughed lightly, knowing he was very grateful to have her back. Slowly, he lowered her to the ground and let her walk over to her mother, who she hugged tightly. "Hi Mom."

"Panny… you look so cute." Videl tried to say as her throat constricted on her and tears poured down her cheeks. 

 As soon as she was released from her mother's arms, her grandmother came over and hugged her too, sobbing in her ear. She was trying to say something, but the tears were coming too fast for her. "Grandma, I'm fine." She assured.

Quickly, she switched over to hug her grandfather. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he hugged back and straightened his posture, causing her feet to lift off the ground due to his height. "Hi Grandpa."

"You didn't get into too much trouble while you were there, did you?" He teased.

"No, only as much as you would've gotten into."

"That's good." He said as he laughed. 

Pan hopped down and walked over to the other women where she was swamped with compliments.

"Wow, you look better in those clothes than I did." Bra said.

"No kidding." Marron told her, "You look great!"

"Thanks." Pan said with a slight blush creeping across her cheeks. 

"Did the ship give you any trouble?" Bulma inquired. 

"No, none at all, but the games were a little boring."

Bulma laughed and gave her a light hug, silently thanking any higher power that could hear her for bringing her friend's daughter back home safely. 

Pan smiled and turned around, only to face a very apologetic looking uncle whose head was pointed to the ground. She smiled and went over to him, bringing him into a tight embrace. 

"Pan…" he began, "I'm sorry for…"  
  


"It's okay, Uncle." She said.

"It is?" He asked, surprised.

"Sure it is. It wasn't that big of a deal."  
  


"Yes it was!" He argued.

"No, really. I'm okay and everything will be back to normal in a few days."

"Well, what can I do to make it up to you?" He asked, pulling her away.

Her face twisted in concentration as she thought about if for a moment. Her face brightened up as she got an idea. "Well, the ship is filthy. You could clean it up for me!" 

Goten's shoulders sank as he realized how messy Pan was when she was left alone and how much work that would be. 

"You said…" She started.

"Okay, okay… gees… but you have to come and tell me what to clean out." 

"I've already done laundry. Just throw every thing on the floor in the trash."

Goten took a deep sigh and looked despairingly at the ship, dreading what was to come. Pan laughed at her uncle, but stopped as soon as Trunks came in to her view. He smiled brightly at her, examining her from head to toe as his smile turned into a smirk.

"You look… different." He said smoothly. 

"Thanks..." She replied, feeling uncomfortable under his visual probing of her new appearance. "I think." 

Without warning, he moved in to hug her. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in. She returned the hug, not wanting to act suspiciously, but she did it softly. Two months before, she had been comfortable wrestling around with that same man on the floor without there being any sexual tension at all. All of a sudden, it seemed nearly impossible to simply hug the man without her knees melting. Did he _have_ to smell this good _all_ the time? Was it her imagination, or did he use the exact same cologne throughout these past seventeen years?

He closed his eyes as he subtly dug his nose into the crook of her neck and inhaled slowly. The action didn't go totally unnoticed by the woman in his arms as she tried her best not to collapse into his arms or kiss him right then, but it seemed the rest of the crowd was oblivious to the chemistry… or so they thought. 

Videl's expression went from a loving motherly gaze to one of total astonishment as she witnessed the scene in front of her. She happened to glance over at Bulma who had the same look on her face. They looked at each other with confusion, silently communicating the same suspicions. Body language like that usually only meant one thing for a man and a woman, but neither of them had exhibited such behavior before… had they? Videl looked nervously toward Gohan who was simply watching, as were the rest of the men around them. Were they totally oblivious to _everything_ going on?

Marron looked around nervously, confirming that Videl and Bulma were thinking the same thing. She kept trying to tell herself that what she was witnessing was her imagination. There was no way on earth that her long time friend and ex-fiancé could be falling for her _much y_ounger niece. This couldn't be happening. 

Gohan happen to catch the movement of his wife's head out of the corner of his eye. That's when he noticed the strange looks the women were giving each other, and when he noticed the way Trunks was smelling his daughter's hair and wrapping his arms very low around her waist. A frown instantly cut his smile as he struggled to keep his ki down. He realized that men sometimes felt attractions for people they normally wouldn't, but there was no way that he was going to let Trunks _act_ on those attractions… not with his very _young_ daughter. 

Wanting to interrupt the scene in front of him, he dropped to his knees and whispered into his son's ear, "Hey, go see what your sister got you for your birthday." Immediately, the young Saiyan ran over to where they were.

Pan wondered silently if Trunks was ever going to let her go. It had only been a short hug so far, but she really didn't want to give anybody any ideas about the two of them. Just as she was about to pull away, she felt a small tug on the hem of her black skirt. 

"Panny?" Said a small voice from behind. 

She turned around, still blushing brightly and grateful for the interruption. "Hi Goku!" She said sweeping him up in a hug.

"Did you get me any toys?" 

Pan laughed out loud "You're Mr. Impatient, aren't you? Well, I suppose I could give you your gift now..."

"No wait." Chichi interrupted. "Do it tomorrow… at your 'welcome back' party."

"'Welcome back' party?! Grandma… I said no parties!"

"Come on, this'll give you a chance to tell us all about your trip. We haven't seen you in two months. Humor us…" Chichi argued. 

Pan smiled. "Okay," She caved, "just don't go to too much trouble." 

"Great! Oooh… but I'd better start getting things ready." She said, quickly walking back in through the door to start her task.

The group started following her inside.

"Not so fast." Pan said to her uncle, holding an arm up to his chest do he couldn't walk inside. She pulled out a trash bag, seemingly from nowhere and held it in front of him. "You've got a job to do, remember?"

Goten's shoulders sank as he turned around and started walking back towards the ship.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

That night, Gohan, Videl and Chichi decided to stay over at the Briefs' home, even though the rest of the family went to their perspective houses. That way, it would give them more time in the morning and they wouldn't have to tow Goku Jr. all the way back out there. Bulma always was a more than gracious host anyway, so they always felt welcome to stay when they needed to.  

As soon as Pan walked in the door, Bulma pulled her over and took her to Capsule Corp's main Doctor, the one the entire Son and Briefs clans went to if they ever had any major problems. He was the only person outside of their small circle of family and friends who knew of their true heritage _and_ Pan's trip through time. Of course, like any Doctor, he poked and prodded, took a few blood samples and asked her a thousand questions about how her all-around health had been while she was in the past. She just happened to mention the severe headaches and nightmares she had been having that eventually went away and he went berserk. 

For three hours, he injected her with strange looking fluids, took numerous cat scans and took vial after vial of blood. It had caused unnecessary fear in her family, who were beginning to worry about the after-effects of time travel. Their worry could have been averted if she would have had the courage to tell them it was all brought on by guilt, but she never once opened her mouth. Here she was trying to forget what had happened in the past and the Doctor's prodding only refreshed those memories. She felt guilty for lying and scaring her parents, but if they ever found out what had happened, her life would be ruined. Needless to say, the Doctor never found anything wrong with her, but then again, some of the tests weren't completed yet.

After her 'check-up', Pan chose the nearest guestroom to where she was and collapsed on the bed inside. Coming home had almost been more traumatic for her than the actual trip had been. Not even caring to change clothes, or wash the hint of make up from her face, she crawled under the covers and fell into a deep sleep. It was an early bedtime for her, but she needed the extra rest. However, her internal clock betrayed her and woke her up exactly five hours later… just in time to see the clock change from 11:59 to midnight.   

After nearly a half an hour of struggling, tossing and turning, she finally gave up. She noticed she was still in her skirt, so she changed into some sweats, climbed out the window and headed for the gravity room. Vegeta should've still been up, maybe she could catch some late night… err… early morning training from her ex-Master. 

"Pan!" A voice called out, interrupting her short flight to the gravity room. 

She turned around to see the dark shadow of a familiar figure waving at her from the rooftop. "Just great…" She muttered sarcastically. "Hi Trunks. I was just going to see if your father wanted to train." She spoke in her normal, cheery voice.

"He's not training tonight."   
  


"He's not?!" Pan asked, stunned. "Then where is he?"

Trunks chuckled nervously, a reddish hue covering the top of his cheeks, yet remaining unseen under the cover of darkness.  "If you really want to know, seek his ki."

Pan concentrated for only a moment before she blushed in realization. There were only a few things that could cause Vegeta to break his nightly training schedule and well… only one of them had to do with Bulma. She'd rather just leave it at that. Knowing she would regret it later, she flew over to the roof and sat down next to Trunks. 

"So what are you doing out here?" She asked, pulling her knees to her chest.

"I could ask you the same question." He replied, suddenly displaying that same lady-killer smile he was so popular for.

"I went to sleep early, so I woke up early… too early."

"Hm." He acknowledged. "I couldn't sleep."  
  


"Why not?" She pried.

Trunks sighed, breathing in the chilled night air that carried with it the scent of dampness and morning dew that hadn't yet formed. "I just couldn't. I've been doing that a lot lately." 

"So you're just looking at the stars?" She asked, wondering if and when he ever found the time to enjoy natural beauty like he used to. 

"Yep. You and Goten always saw some sort of charm with the sky, so I thought I'd try to see that charm too."

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "You _love_ escaping from your office and flying through the air. You always said that the sky was your safe haven."

"I like _that_, but I never saw the charm in just laying on my back and staring at it. I used to love it as a kid though. I guess I've just been up there too much… I don't wonder about it anymore… it's like a mystery that's been solved."

"Maybe you're just looking too hard. This isn't astronomy class, you're not supposed to study them; you just sit back and allow yourself to enjoy them, once and a while making up new constellations."

"Maybe… or maybe being so grown-up has taken all the fun out of life." He said, leaning back so that he was spread out on his back over the roof. 

Pan scoffed softly. "I'm grown-up too… but I still love staring at the stars."

"Do you?"

"I miss them." She admitted sadly.

"You were just up there. What's to miss?"

"I know, and believe me, when I was up there I wanted to get home as soon as possible… but now, now I want to go back." Her gaze left him and returned upward as she watched the slow descending of the western stars in the horizon.

"Well, you know what they say. When you're at home, you long for true adventure. When you're on a true adventure, you long to be home."

Pan sighed as she absorbed what he said. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"It's kind of like being married." He added. "When you're single, you spend so much time searching for that 'special someone' that you can spend your life with… but when you're married… well… there has to be some reason why fifty percent of all marriages end up in divorce."

"You really don't know what that 'reason' is though. Every couple we're really close to is still together." She pointed out, wondering how and why this topic suddenly came up.   
  


"Yeah, but if you think about it, how many times have we come close to losing each other, or have lost each other? I'm sure that would make a person more likely to appreciate their mate."

"True…" Pan added softly, deciding to drop the topic instead of delving into his personal thoughts. For a moment, there was a small silence. It was comfortable though… as all the small silences these two friends shared were. "Don't you ever miss it though?"

"Hm?"

"Being up there." She said, pointing towards the sky, "Searching for the dark stars, facing danger at every corner and eluding it, soaring past the stars so fast they look like… like…"

"Like giant, compressed, balls of gas?"

"You just _had_ to ruin my moment, didn't you?" She slapped him lightly on the arm. "I was being poetic."

Trunks laughed shortly. "You call _that_ poetic? I was forced to go on that trip… just like I was forced into taking over Mom's company. For you, it was a freely chosen adventure. For me, it was like another day at the office."

"_Admit it_, you miss it." She repeated, purposefully ignoring his last little insult.  

Trunks breathed deeply and swallowed his pride. "_Yeah_, I miss it. I miss it a lot." 

"I would like to go back up there sometime."

"Given this planet's luck with evil villains from outer space, I'm sure you'll have your chance."

Pan smiled and laughed softly. Changing the subject for no real reason other than curiosity she began, "Bra told me you bought a house… and a puppy."

Trunks smiled and scoffed quietly. "Yeah. It's nice, you should come see it some time."

"I will."  
  
After another small silence, Trunks spoke again, this time, so quietly that even Pan had a hard time hearing him,  "It's too empty though…"

"Hm?"

"The house… I feel lonely when I stay there." His tone was more curious than sad… as if he had no idea what it was like to feel alone. Pan silently sighed because of this.  

"Well, I suppose it takes a little while to get used to. Living on your own, I mean. Around here, you've had your parents to make plenty of noise. Especially when they're fighting. You'll get used to the silence after a while though, I'm sure."

"Yeah, you're right. I guess that's why I bought the puppy. Still..."  
  


"'Still' what?" 

"Still…" He began, his voice filled with longing, "I wish I had someone to share it with."

Pan's smile faded. She was grateful for the darkness when her vision began to blur with unshed tears. "Well, you could always marry. You have enough women throwing themselves at your feet, just pick one of them." She said, nearly choking on her words. _'What happened to distancing myself from him?'_ She asked herself.

Trunks looked at her abruptly after hearing her struggle with what she was saying. He looked for some sign of emotion, but she had her head down so that her bangs covered her eyes and her knees her held up to her chin as she sat, covering most of her face. She abruptly stood up without warning and started levitating. "I'd better get to bed. My parents are going to exhaust me with questions tomorrow." She said, slowly heading downward towards the window of her guest bedroom.

"Pan, wait!" Trunks called out quietly after her.

For some reason that was beyond her at that moment, she stopped and listened to him.

"I don't _want_ one of the women who throw themselves at me. I don't _like_ them and I can't _stand_ them either." He argued.

"Then what _do_ you want Trunks?" She asked, never turning around to face him. 

A solid lump formed in his throat as he tried to summon strength from within, "I've wanted to tell you… I-I… should've told you this a while ago, but… I want someone who will come with me when I want to escape from my office and fly through the air. I want y…"

Pan looked up into his eyes. His words and the raw emotion she saw in his blue depths made her heart skip a few beats. _'What's happening?'_

"Good night, Trunks." She interrupted out of nowhere, then descended quickly and flew in the window.

Trunks sighed, feeling that aching loneliness that had plagued him through most of his life infect him again. "Good night." He said quietly to no one after she had descended beyond his sight.

Pan collapsed on her bed once again, silent tears making their way across her face as gravity pulled them downward, sideways across her cheeks. Confusion swam in her mind, making her want to throw up. There was no headache though, and she was grateful. She went to sleep again that night, this time being lulled by the way her eyes felt tired after having cried for so long.

Trunks stayed up on the roof top, staring at the stars. For the first time since he was a boy, he saw the true beauty in the indigo sky and allowed himself to be charmed. Thoughts… doubts ran through his mind as well. He knew he would never look up at another starry sky without thinking about her. There were so many things… so many thoughts, ideas and a few proposals he had wanted to say to her that night, but his words failed him. She seemed to have gotten the point from the look on her face. He would know for sure the next day, at her party.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The next day was going to be a rough one. Trunks knew that from the moment he woke up. He rolled out of bed at about eleven in the morning, having enjoyed his last few weeks of being able to sleep in due to Pan's situation. His mother had made it clear that he was going to work the next day, there was no escaping it. Plus, he had a lot to do this day, so sleeping in a little wasn't going to hurt. He hadn't exactly gotten to bed very early the night before either. He tossed and turned until the sun rose. 

Grudgingly, he got up and jumped in the shower, turning the water pressure up all the way and _hot_. That's how he liked it, especially when there were knots in his shoulders and back like there were that particular day. After making sure that he smelled his best, he walked back into his room. Tiredly, he rubbed his eyes and made his way over to his bed where freshly pressed slacks and a dress shirt lay. He was trying to look his best when he faced Pan and talked to her.

Lifting his shirt in front of him, he inspected carefully. "Where did that come from?" He asked no one in particular after seeing a coffee stain on the collar.

Not really caring about the shirt's value, he threw it into the trash can and proceeded to dig through his closet for a new one that looked similar. He stopped when he came across his old green gi from his teenage years. He only wore it a few times, even though his mother had actually called in a favor with Chichi to make it for him so he could wear it to the boudakai he competed in when he was eighteen. From what he remembered, his mother had wanted him to look just like he did when he was eight and fighting Buu because he would look so cute. He had other plans though. Instead, he changed in the men's locker room to a black tank top and loose pants. After all, he was going to be on TV and green was definitely _not_ in style. 

Trunks thought about it for a moment and decided to go to Pan's party in his green gi. It was about time he got some use out of it anyway and he had a good idea on how to do it. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Back at Capsule's lawn, the peculiar looking space craft sat unmoving, still in the same position it had landed in the day before. Trunks could hear crashing coming from inside as he made his way towards it. Random objects were being carelessly tossed out the main door as the occupant inside slowly worked his way further into the ship, sifting through clothes and trash that had been left laying around. 

"Goten?" Trunks called from the entrance, standing slightly over to the side as to avoid the unidentified flying objects his long time friend was throwing out of the ship.

"Hey Trunks." Goten greeted cheerily as he popped his head out the door. "How come you're wearing _that_? I thought you _hated_ green." 

"Oh, I was hoping we could go spar or something before lunch… and this was the only thing I had to wear that was clean."

"No, not right now. I have to clean this place up." Goten said, turning around and continuing to stuff the items that remained on the floor into the undersized trash bag. Trunks followed him in, curios to see if it looked and smelled anything like it did in the past after Pan had been living in it. "I can't believe one girl could make such a big mess after being alone for only two months."  
  
Trunks laughed lightly, agreeing with him. The place _was_ very messed up for having had only one occupant traveling in it. "I always thought Pan was a neat freak." He said, stepping over the strewn clothes lying all over the floor of the control room.

"I thought she was too. Maybe she messed it up on purpose to make my job harder." 

"Yeah, maybe." He agreed absentmindedly as he slowly walked over to the bedroom door and took a peek inside.

"You wouldn't believe the stuff that she wants me to throw away. Look at this."

Trunks turned to see Goten holding up something very familiar looking. It was a gold chain with a clear stone hanging from it. He smiled, suddenly remembering the time he gave it to her… the night when he told her about his heritage. _'That's ironic.'_ Trunks thought.

"And look at this," Goten added, pulling a piece of dark material off of the floor. "I'm no expert, but I think this is a pretty nice dress. I wonder why she would want me to throw it away."

Trunks' jaw dropped slightly before he could catch himself. He reached his hand out and smoothed the slightly wrinkled velvet with his fingers, feeling the curves and the stitching of the embroidered flowers. He could still remember the feeling of  having his arms around her waist, the way she looked wearing the exact same dress, making him want to hold her against him forever, the smell of her perfume and shampoo as he sniffed her neck subtly while trying not to get caught, how her soft lips tasted as she pressed them against his, and the sound of her smooth voice as she spoke in his ear about how she loved him… and how much she would miss him.

"Trunks? Hello! Earth calling Trunks!" Goten nearly shouted.

Trunks was quickly jolted out of his reverie by his friend's rather annoying voice. "What?!" He snapped defensively.

"What's with you and all this day dreaming lately? And _why_ are you still standing here petting Pan's dress?"     

Trunks quickly tore himself away and dropped his hands back at his side. "It feels nice, that's why. And I wasn't daydreaming, I was just… distracted."

"Uh huh." Goten muttered, obviously not buying his story. "Well, I've got work to do. Are you going to help, or do you want to just stand here fantasizing about women's clothing some more?"

Trunks narrowed his eyes, but quickly dropped the topic. "Are you sure Pan wants you to throw away all of this?"

"Yeah, she said everything on the floor. The dress and the necklace were on the floor, so I guess she doesn't want them."

"Oh." Trunks realized with disappointment why she didn't. "I tell you what, I'll clean up around here."  
  
Goten eyed Trunks suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch. I was just thinking that I would like to keep some of the things she's asking you to throw away."

"Trunks… I don't think the dress is your size." Goten joked, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Trunks. "Well, Dad and I have had a lot of time to talk recently… and he's told me some pretty interesting stories about your little galaxy tour. How do I know you're not just going to take all of her clothing to satisfy your own twisted fetish?"

"Fine." Trunks replied, turning and slowly walking out the door. "You can clean this place up yourself."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay." Goten said quickly, running in front of Trunks and forcefully pushing him back into the ship. "Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah. Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone it was me who cleaned up the ship."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons."

Goten once again gave him a suspicious look, but he ignored it. Not wanting to waste anymore of his day off on working, he shoved the trash bag into Trunks arms. "Have fun." He said before flying away.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 

Pan woke up late in morning, the sun already high enough to shine through the windows of her usual Capsule guestroom and into her eyes. Not wanting to waste anymore time than she already had, she quickly got up and was showered, dressed and groomed within minutes. Heeding a formal request from her grandmother, she dressed in effeminate attire, emphasized with a little makeup and her hair up. 

She had gotten used to wearing the skirt and the shoes, but she didn't know if she was comfortable donning the uncharacteristic clothes so soon after getting back. Whenever she put on those same clothes in the past, her alter ego Kara would take over, automatically changing her mannerisms and attitude. It got to the point where 'Kara' had practically become a split personality.  Now, however, Kara was dead… buried six feet underground along with all of the feelings and memories Pan had acquired while in the past. Pan didn't want to dig her up again, but she knew that Kara's qualities would end up shining through her normally rough exterior. Pan just hoped a certain demi-Saiyan wouldn't notice.

Momentarily enjoying a moment of peace, she drew her curtains back and leaned out the window, absorbing the mid day air and the sun shine, which she had missed on her journey back through time. When she was a little girl, it didn't bother her as much to be cooped up in a space ship for weeks at a time. Maybe it was simply because everything was bigger back then, and she was smaller. Now it seemed, the world and all the space around it was too small for her, as if she could never escape from the ghosts that haunted her.

"Goku! Stop it! That cake is for Pan!" Her grandmother roared, suddenly snapping her out of her reverie.

Although her peace was interrupted by her grandmother's screech, she couldn't help but laugh a little. She was home… 

Knowing that everyone was outside anyway, Pan jumped out of her second-story window and on to the ground, a large shopping bag in-tow. It seemed, she still had something to learn about wearing a skirt and flying. After landing on the plush green grass, Pan walked around to the back yard. She went quietly, not wanting to draw attention. However, her plan failed, and she was met with an onslaught of more hugs from each of her family members.

"Panny! I'm so glad you went with the skirt!" Chichi chirped. "Well, you came out just in time. I was about to call you for lunch."

Pan smiled politely as she was led to the out door dinner table where the rest of her family and the Brief's were just sitting down. She sat next to Goku, who was foaming at the mouth at the sight of the food before him.

"Pan have you seen Jr.?" Gohan asked, sitting down across from her.

"No. I didn't come through the house and he wasn't in the yard."

"Oops." Goku Sr. said, a guilty look on his face.

"What 'oops'?" Videl asked, slightly worried.

Goku didn't give an answer. He put his two first fingers to his forehead and concentrated for a moment. In a flash, he was gone, but reappeared quickly, a giggling bundle of demi Saiyan underneath his arm. "Jr. and I were playing 'hide and go seek' and… I guess I got distracted by the food when I was supposed to be seeking." The older Saiyan laughed nervously as he put his other hand behind his head. Goku Jr. squealed in delight as his grandfather swung him over his head and placed him in his booster chair.

Pan laughed too. Her little brother was so cute. She was thankful he hadn't aged much while she was gone. Still, she knew he would grow up too fast… unless he happened to take after their grandfather where as he would never grow up at all.

"So… I guess we should start." Chichi suggested, looking at her watch.

"Wait, Trunks isn't here yet." Bulma said.

"I don't see why we have to wait anyway. If he wants to eat, he should've been here on time." Vegeta complained, appreciating the rarity of having food cooked by someone with skill, as opposed to his wife.

"I'm here." Trunks said from behind, grabbing the empty chair at the end of the table and sitting down.

"What have you been up to?" Bulma asked, noting his old, green gi.

"He's been taking a bath. What does it look like, Woman?" Vegeta griped. "It's about time you got some more training in, Boy. Though it doesn't do any good if you don't sweat. No wonder you're getting weaker."

"I haven't trained yet. I was planning to after dinner." He responded, once again ignoring the condescending attitude in his father's voice. "Uh, should I change? I can run in and…"

"No, you're here now and everyone's hungry. Let's just go a head and eat."

No one had to say anything more before Goku started swallowing his plate full of food. The rest followed, in a slightly more calm matter as the women made chit chat. Every once and a while, Trunks looked up from his plate and stole a glance at the woman across the table from him. Once and a while she would look back, but turn quickly, as if she were trying to avoid him. Trunks sighed inwardly.

"So, Trunks… isn't that the gi I made for you?" Chichi asked, wiping her mouth politely with her napkin. 

"Um… yeah, Ms. Chichi, it is."

"Hmm… That's the first time I've seen you wear it." She said, getting up and walking over to him. "Does it fit okay?"

Trunks' cheeks turned bright red as Chichi tugged at the neck and waist line of his gi to check the fit. Goten laughed loudly as he watched his friend's face turn every shade of crimson possible. Marron promptly hit her husband in the stomach. 

"Mom… your food's getting cold." Gohan said, trying to hint that Trunks most likely would like to finish his meal as opposed to having her hands tugging at his clothes.

"Ooh… sorry." Chichi apologized, remembering that Trunks was nearly forty now… not seven. She quickly made her way back to her seat. 

Trunks chuckled nervously, his blush fading. Pan laughed a little too, along with the others, at how embarrassed Trunks must have been. Her mistake was looking over at him to see his expression. Instantly, they locked eyes. Her smile faded as his soul searched hers, his eyes glued to hers as if he could see right past her shell and into her heart. An uncomfortable feeling of familiarity sunk in. The way he was looking at her, the way he was acting towards her, he was behaving just like he had in the past, just like he had with Kara. It was almost as if… 

Pan abruptly cleared her throat, tearing herself away from his gaze and forcing herself to regain composer. "Jr., I have your birthday present with me."

The little boy popped his head up, instantly dropping the chicken leg that was in his bite. At five years of age, the demi-Saiyan was still unsure as to which one was more important, food, or presents. 

"Do you want it now?"

The little boy eagerly shook his head. "Yeah!"

Pan dug underneath the table and pulled out the three gifts from the shopping bag. "Mom, Dad… I got you something too. I saw these in the past and I thought of you, so I bought them."

Videl looked at her curiously. "What are these?"

"Just open them." Pan insisted. 

"This doesn't seem right." Videl said as she unwrapped the small package. "You just got back from a journey across time and you're bringing _us_ the gifts?"

Pan smiled at her mother. "Like I said, these are things I know you'll like."

"Hey!" Gohan remarked. "I haven't been able to find a bright blue and yellow horizontal, pinstriped tie in a long time! Thanks!"

"That's because they went out of style twenty years ago, Brother. I think Pan is trying to tell you something." Goten commented.

"Pan, I've been looking for this album for years! How'd you know I wanted it?" Videl asked. 

"Are you kidding? Every time we go to the store, you look for it." Pan answered. "So how do you like _your_ present, Jr.?"

"It's cool!" He exclaimed studying the box. "What is it?"

"It's a video game you can hook up to your fingers."

"Cool!"

"I'll show you how to use it after lunch." 

"Uh… hey Panny," Goten started, popping his head up from his dinner plate once more. "I sort of have a… gift for you too. If you want it, anyway."

"What's that?" Pan inquired.

"Well, Piccolo told us about your transformation to a new level in the past."

"He did?" Pan asked nervously, unsure of what else Mr. Piccolo told them. 

"Yeah… and well, according to him, I made a very similar transformation myself."

"When… when was this? Why didn't you tell me?!" She asked passionately.

"It happened while you were gone… I… the reason I got so angry before…"Goten started hesitantly to explain as Pan listened intently. "I needed to train this new power. It was making me over aggressive and… well, I lost control, so I trained. I ended up transforming while I was fighting Dad."

She paused for a moment, letting the new information sink in. "So… you're saying that you got angry and that's what caused you to transform into the exact same level that I did when I was in the past?"  
  


"Yeah."

"That's weird. Are we the only ones who have done this?"  
  


"Yeah, you are." Gohan answered. "And that's why I agreed when Goten asked to take you into the ROSAT for a year of training."

"The Room of Spirit and Time?! You're kidding! You wouldn't let me go in there before! You kept telling me how tough it was and how easily a person could go insane!" Pan yelled, suddenly excited at what her family was telling her.

"Well… that was before, when you were just trying to reach Super Saiyan and didn't want anybody to go with you." Gohan answered. "I think you should train this new power of yours with someone who's your equal and right now… that leaves you with Goten."

Pan was still confused, "But why don't I just train with someone stronger than I am so I can build strength?"

Goten exchanged glances with Gohan, wondering if he should go on. "Pan…the day I first transformed… I was… nearly able to defeat Dad."

"Defeat _Grandpa_?" Pan asked in disbelief.

"At level four." Goku chimed in, voice full of pride, mouth full of food.

Pan slumped over in her chair slightly, her head swooning.  

"Pan? Are you okay?" Videl asked concerned at the fact that her daughter's complexion was now a couple shades paler than it was a moment before.

"So what does this mean? How are we able to do this?" Pan asked.

"I don't know. Hopefully, we'll find out something in the ROSAT." Goten answered.

"So we're definitely going?" Pan asked, getting excited at the thought of a year straight of doing nothing but training.

"Yeah. I'm already packed. Whenever you're ready to go, we'll just…"

"Now!" Pan interrupted, rocketing out of her seat.

"Like… right now, now?" Goten asked. "Shouldn't we at least let our food digest?"

"Come on, Uncle! I want to go train!" Pan shouted, walking over and pulling on his arm. 

"Pan…" He began, trying to pry his arm away from his ecstatic niece. 

"Hey… are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Well, I…"

"We could stay in there for _two_ days!" She exclaimed happily.

"No, Pan… we can't."

"Why not?" She asked, her voice full of disappointment.

"I already went in the room when I was a kid. I don't want to end up getting sealed in there for eternity." Goten said.

"Oh… well, then we should talk to Dende and see if he knows how much time you have left. Maybe we can stay for a day and a half or something."

"That would be okay." Goten agreed. "Why don't you go pack and I'll go grab my stuff and talk to Dende? We can meet up on Dende's lookout in a few hours."

"Sounds good to me." Pan said picking up her stuff and getting ready to fly back to her house. "I'll be up there within the hour." 

"Wait!" Trunks shouted, jumping out of his seat. He succeeded in grabbing the attention of everyone there with his outburst.

"What's wrong?" Pan asked.

Trunks looked around, unsure of what to answer. He wasn't ready for this yet… but he didn't want her to spend a year and a half in the ROSAT without knowing how he felt. _'Here goes nothing.'_

"I-I… I have a gift for you too." He admitted.

"You do?" She asked, her eyes traveling over to Bra and asking a silent question. 

Bra just shrugged. She had no idea what her brother was up to, and from the looks of it, neither did anyone else. Pan was slightly unnerved. 

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? I bought you a present." He said apprehensively. 

"Oh. Okay… Well, what is it?"

"We have to fly over to my house. I-I left it there. It will only take a couple of hours."

"Um… but I wanted to pack for the…"  
  


"You go head." Videl interrupted. "We'll be leaving soon. I can start packing for you."

"Yeah, and I was sort of hoping we could go tomorrow anyway, so I can have some time to get ready." Goten stated.

"Oh." She said, sounding disappointed. "Okay then. Just let me go get changed."

Trunks nodded as she flew from the picnic area, back up to her normal guest room. He noted her disappointment, but tried to look past it._ 'This has to be done **now. **If I let her go into the ROSAT without saying anything, it could ruin everything.'_

"Trunks…" Bulma started. "What did you get her?"

"You'll find out when she gets back. I'm not telling you now." He told her.

"I bet it's something personal." Bra said in a melodic tone.

"That's none of your business!" He quietly snapped.

"Oooh, it is!" She chirped.

"Shut up…"

"I'm ready." Pan said, now wearing a sweater and pants, her bag over her shoulder.

Trunks smiled and they took off into the sky. It would take nearly half and hour to get there, considering his house was half way between Capsule Corp and the Son's place. The flight there was traveled in mostly silence. It was an awkward silence, so different from the comfort that these two friends normally shared in each other's company. Neither really knew what to say to one another.

"So tell me about your trip." Trunks suggested, trying desperately to ease the tension. 

"There's nothing to tell." Pan told him, lying through her teeth. "I landed, I stayed in my ship, I went shopping, sparred with Piccolo, and then I came back." 

Trunks nodded silently, not wanting to prod any deeper until he was ready. Once and a while, he caught himself staring at her. It was a habit he hoped he wouldn't break. She was exactly like he remembered her to be seventeen years ago. She looked exactly like she did when he sat down across from her at Sloshy's, exactly like she did when he told her he loved her. Pan noticed his staring and looked back, wondering what he was hiding behind his blue, crystalline eyes. He suddenly looked away, a small blush creeping to his cheeks that he hoped she couldn't see.

"Uh… so when are we going to get there?" She asked, trying to ease the discomfort.

"It's right below us." He answered, coming to a dead stop and floating down.

Pan followed suit and descended directly in front of the doorway to a large, luxurious house. Trunks unlocked the door and walked inside, setting his keys on a table beside the entrance. Pan looked up and around. His home was very large, but very homely and cozy. It looked nothing like Capsule Corp. Each floor was done in hardwood, except the living area wish had plush, white carpet. It was the kind of carpet that you could lay down on and fall asleep. In fact, she had to hold back the urge to walk around without her shoes on so she could feel the soft material squeeze between her toes and squish down under her foot.

The décor was arranged in her favorite colors. There were even fresh flowers lying in a vase on almost every coffee table or counter top. The ceiling was high, opened up with skylights that poured sunlight into nearly every room. To the right of the entrance and past the living area, there was a long, winding staircase leading up to the second floor where the bedrooms were. She could only imagine what _they_ looked like. All in all, the house was very warm… and small. 

"Trunks, your house is beautiful!" Pan yelled into the kitchen where Trunks had gone.

"You don't have to stay in the doorway. You can come further in, you know." He joked.

Pan obeyed and walked slowly through the doorway and past the living area, studying all of the accessories and paintings in each room. "Don't tell me you decorated this yourself."

"Nope, I hired someone. After I told her what I wanted, she went to work."

"When I move out, you'll have to give me her name… if I can afford her. She has great taste. But why'd you pick a house so small?"

"It's small?" He asked amused, knowing it had to be twice the size of her parent's home.

"No, but compared to Capsule Corp., it is."

"Actually, it only takes up one-twenty-fourth of the square footage that Capsule does."

"Why?"

"No laboratories or office buildings. Most of my parent's house consisted of machinery and workers. I didn't want that. I prefer to leave my work at work… where it belongs." He explained from the kitchen. "Hey, you want to meet a new friend of mine?"  
  


"New friend?"

She heard a door open and close and suddenly, a small, yet very rambunctious brown blurb ran in to greet her. 

"This is your puppy?! Oh! She looks just like Bee did!" Pan yelled, picking the puppy up.

"I know." Trunks said, leaning against the doorway and watching her laugh while petting and coddling the young dog as she struggled to keep it from licking her face. "That's why I got her."  
  
Pan eyed the large, some-what worn, red ribbon on it's collar and looked at him suspiciously. "Is she my gift?"

Trunks smiled.

"Trunks… thank you… but I can't keep dogs at our house. Not with Jr. being so young."

"I had a feeling something like that might happen, so I thought… maybe… the dog could stay here."

"And stay here alone while you're at work?"

"I have a day maid. She can take care of her for now."

"Ooh." Pan said quietly… setting the dog back down on the ground.

"But the dog's not your only present. There's more coming." He said brightly.

"You're kidding."

"No, that's what I came back here for. Come on, let's go." Trunks said, opening the door for her.

"Where are we going now?" She asked.

"It's a surprise, but first, you've got to put this over your eyes." Trunks said, pulling out her orange bandana from her back pocket and folding it then tying it over her eyes so she couldn't see anything.

"Hey!" She yelled, slightly offended that he felt so comfortable reaching back there. "How am I supposed to fly?"

Trunks smirked. Even though she couldn't see him, she knew something was wrong. She gasped loudly, sensing the sudden lack of support. Her legs were swooped out from underneath her as he lifted her in his arms, pulling her securely against his chest. He could feel her tense in his grip. She was uncomfortable being so close to him… He'd have to do something about that.

"Geez…" He groaned falsely, hoping to egg her on a little and get her to relax, "Did you gain weight while you were in the past?"

She growled quietly, unhappy mostly with her current, helpless situation. "I was just informed that I've made a transformation that could very well mean I'm stronger than you. Don't make me _test_ that theory."

He chuckled dryly, "Oh, I'm so scared."

"When are we getting to my surprise anyway?" She asked, changing subjects.

"Well, it's going to be another few minutes."  
  


"Fine, but one more smart aleck remark from you, and you get to see my new transformation first hand."

"Don't worry, we'll be there before you know it."

Shortly thereafter, they landed. Pan was still blindfolded. The only thing she was aware of about her surroundings was that they had flown over a few fast food places and a gas station on their way there. She could smell them overhead. They must be in the city.

"So, are we uptown, or downtown?" She asked.

"You're observant." He said, taking her arm and leading her forward. "Follow me. I'll tell you if there's a step."

"Where are we? Which city is this?" She asked. 

"It's not horribly far from your house." He told her, guiding her across the street to spite the strange looks the people around were giving them. "Not horribly far from mine either… Step up."

Pan obeyed and took a step forward and over a curb. Suddenly, they stopped. Pan sniffed the air and listened carefully, wondering what on earth they were doing on a side walk and what this had to do with her gift. "Trunks… we stopped. Are we there?"

Trunks stepped in front of her and gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Pan…" He began, his voice soft and tender… so much so that Pan was disconcerted about what she was walking into. 

"Yeah?" She asked nervously.

"Before we… before I take off your blindfold y-you have to promise me something."

"Um… okay."

"You have to promise… not to run away."

Pan stepped back slightly, surprised with such a request. "What kind of gift _is_ this? You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry. I-It's just that… I-I… I… You'll know what this is about once you find out what it is."

"Okay… I promise, but please take the blindfold off now, this is killing me."

Trunks laughed lightly, wrapping his arms around her head to untie the knot holding the bandana in its place. Slowly, he uncovered her eyes, nervousness building inside him, making his stomach feel like there were a thousand butterflies inside flapping around. Pan opened her eyes and rubbed them a little, her vision blurry and used to the darkness of the bandana. She looked up at Trunks, his eyes filled with worry. 

"Trunks…" She started, wondering why he looked so tense. 

His worried frown changed to a small smile as she look further up at the sign on the building above them. She gasped loudly, looking back at Trunks confusedly and then glancing up at the sign again. Her mouth was forming words, but sound didn't come out. 

"You can change the name if you want to. Maybe you can call it 'Pan's' or something catchier." He suggested, chuckling at her evident shock. "It's yours now, so you can do whatever you want with it. You don't even have to sell ice cream if…" 

"You bought me _Sloshy's?!_" She yelled.

"Do you like it?"

"Do I _like_ it?! Trunks… Thank you!" She said, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Suddenly, Trunks' smile became twice as wide and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He sighed, enjoying the contact. She was sure not to be so friendly once they got inside. 

"Can we go inside?!" She asked, abruptly pulling out of his embrace.

Trunks chuckled again, "Sure we can. That's what we had to go back to my place for." 

He took a set of two brass keys out of his pocket, a small red ribbon was tied at the top, holding the two together and held them out for her to take, "Do you want to do the honors?"

Eagerly, she grabbed them and jumped towards the door. The keys fit perfectly into the locks, which Trunks was grateful for. Otherwise, with Pan's strength, they might have ended up breaking inside the lock she would have blasted her way into her new shop. Pan tore open the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges while running inside. 

"Trunks… how did you do this?" Pan asked, astonished even more by the inside. It looked exactly like it did back in its prime… right down to the checkered floor tiles and the brightly colored booths, chairs and tables.

"I talked to the old owner. He remembered all of us too… In fact, he sort of blamed us for him going out of business because of our appetites. I asked him about the furniture and he told me that everything had been stored in the back room… so I had it all refurbished and put it out here."

Pan laughed. "It was his fault… he's the one who came up with the 'Monster Sloshy' idea. It wasn't our fault we took advantage of the large portions he offered."

Trunks laughed with her, mainly out of anxiety. He glanced at the table in the corner of the store furthest from them… on the far wall. Didn't she see it? 

"Trunks… this looks exactly like it did before it closed!" She said, running her hands over the material of one of the booths. "This place closed down while we were on our galaxy tour. I haven't been here in… in…"

"…weeks." He finished for her.

Pan snapped her gaze back to him. "W-what do… what are you talking about?" She asked, hoping what was happening really wasn't happening at all.

Trunks walked over to her slowly, his gaze set downward, toward the floor. As he reached her, he took her hands in his, playing with her fingers as he looked up into her eyes. His expression was soft, one of a caring nature. He paused for a moment, seeking some hint of her reaction written in her eyes. "I have something to tell you…" He turned his gaze to the side, focusing on the table in the corner. She followed his eyes right to where he was looking.

In the corner, near the table, a black, dress mannequin stood its ground, covered in the beautiful gown she had worn so many years ago. Fastened around its neck was the shiny, gold necklace, the diamond charm hanging proudly at the bottom as it shined and glistened in the low light coming in from the windows. On its head was the black, satiny hat, slanted a little to the side, like she had worn it. 

Pan stepped back, tearing her hands out of his. Her head was shaking, her mouth forming noiseless words, "N-no… no… You're not going to say what I think you're going to say…"

Trunks' expression sank as he saw her glossy eyes. They were pained, and scared. She was looking at him as if he had betrayed her, stabbed her in the back. He wanted to take everything back, to forget about ever telling her, to spare her the confusion and the pain that was evidently shooting through her.

"I've missed you all these years… Kara."

Pan turned and started heading quickly towards the door, desperate to get out of that situation, to run from him again. It felt as if someone had just shot her through the heart. _'He remembers?!'_

Without sparing a moment, Trunks ran in front of her, covering the exit with his arm. "You promised you wouldn't run." He reminded her quietly.

"I lied!" She yelled, her voice shaky with rage and other emotion.

"Pan…don't run away from me again! Don't run away from your problems like a child! You ran away from me once, wasn't that enough?! Please! Just let me explain…"

"No! Don't tell me this! Tell me you don't remember!"

"But I do." He said calmly.

"No! I sprayed you with that… with that memory junk! How do you remember?!" She asked, a tear finally spilling over onto her cheeks.

"I… I… fell into the pond. You know, the one near your ship. When you sprayed it into my eyes, I lost my balance." He explained, deciding to continue when he saw the confused look in her eyes, "Water reverses the effects… remember?"

Pan shook her head. "No… I have to… I have to go find the spray thing again… I can still…"

"No." He stated, "It won't work now. I'll forget everything about you, everything about our experiences together. I won't even remember you being on our galaxy tour."

"Fine! Then you'll forget!" She yelled. "I don't care! Forget me! I'll…!"

"Pan!" He yelled over her voice, getting her attention again. "I don't want to forget." 

More tears poured out of her as she looked desperately into his gaze. "Trunks…"

He gently wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb and led her over to a table. "Sit down."

"No, I should be…"  
  


"Sit down." He repeated, surprised when she actually _did_ sit down on the table.

"What?" She asked, her voice full of contempt and pain.

He looked into her eyes, holding her gently at the shoulders so she wouldn't take off again. "Pan… a long time ago, I fell in love with you. I'm _still_ in love with you."  
  


"You fell in love with Kara." She spat. 

"But you _are_ Kara."

"No, I'm not. Remember? You said it yourself! You told me how much you were in love with Kara and how sad you were that she was dead. You called me a bratty, little tom-boy with too much time on my hands. You said that you didn't even want to be friends and that all I ever wanted from the beginning was to manipulate you. You called me a child who would never grow up. You said that you were in love with _Kara_ and that I could never _be_ Kara!" Pan said, getting louder and more emotional with each word.

"I was wrong." He said quietly. "I don't remember what I said to you. All I know is that it hurt you, and that I wanted to take it back the moment it left my mouth. Before you left… I didn't say all the things that I wanted to say."

"And is that supposed to make everything right again?!"

"No! I just…"

"Trunks, what is this all about? Why did you even bother telling me this?" She asked, her voice quiet and solemn. "Were you hoping to get a good laugh or something?"

"No, Pan… I wanted to tell you how I feel. I've waited to tell you for so long… I love you."    

"Don't patronize me!" She shouted. "You _don't_ love me! You loved _Kara_!"

"No, I love _you!_" He yelled, matching her passion. "For seventeen years I've been getting to know you, learning your likes and dislikes, becoming your friend! I didn't do that because I wanted to laugh at your feelings! I wanted to know _you_… _you_ Pan Son, not Kara Oakie because I love you!"

"And you just expected me to jump into your arms after hearing all of this?"

"Best-case scenario? Yes, I was hoping you would feel the same way… but if you don't…"

"I don't know how I feel…" She admitted quietly. "Trunks, for so long I… I was infatuated with you. I don't know if it was just… a crush… or if I was mixing up our friendship for something more, but… then I had to go on this stupid trip to the past and I fell in love with you. The worst part was… you felt the same way. But you didn't have those feelings for Pan. You loved Kara Oakie… the girl who liked to wear dresses and who was lot more feminine than I am. She wasn't a tom-boy, she fought, she looked great in a dress, she wore make-up… she was your type. I'm not your type though… not Pan Son. Pan Son would rather head out and spar than go out to dinner at some fancy restaurant. Pan Son will challenge you… yell at you. Kara Oakie was… she was your fan. She never argued with you."

"Yes she did." He corrected, laughing lightly.

"Then I had to go screw up things even more by going to bed with you… Trunks, I wasn't supposed to…"

"I know." He interrupted, putting his forehead against hers while taking her hand in his and savoring the moment. "Pan, I spent the last seventeen years of my life getting to know everything about you. I knew of your promise." 

"And I had to win that stupid hat… This whole thing wouldn't have happened if I would've stayed away from the club."

Trunks laughed lightly. He was relieved that she was finally calming down. He reached over and grabbed the hat off the mannequin, placing it on Pan's head. "I still think it looks better on you." He said softly, closely inspecting her expression.

She looked up at him, seeing something in his eyes, something she never thought she would see. He was looking at her the same way… the same way he looked at Kara when they first met and when they kissed. "Trunks…" She started, fresh tears falling from her azure eyes, making them sparkle like crystals as they reflected the light. "I wanted to hate you. I think I did for a while there too."

He lifted his left hand and wiped them from her cheeks, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "Do you now? Do hate me?"

"I thought I did… but you had to be so stubborn and I…"

With a renewed passion, he touched his lips to hers. Softly, she kissed back, crying as her heart warmed and her head spun. Trunks felt an old fire start to burn within him. It was old, but familiar. Seventeen years old, to be exact.

He pulled back softly and smiled. "You don't know how much and how often I've wanted to do that. I love you."

She gasped, silently spilling tear after tear as he knelt down in front of her, lifting a small box out of his pocket. "I never got to do this before, so you'll forgive me if it's a little weird."

She shook her head, unable to form words. She knew what she wanted to say… she knew what she needed to say. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't find her voice.

"Pan… I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I… will you? Marry me?"

"Trunks…"

"I know this is soon. You just got back and everything… from a time when I yelled and criticized you. But I promise that I said all of those things to a near-stranger, not to the woman standing in front of me. Now that I know you, you've proven to be everything opposite of what I called you. You're a fascinating, mature and very beautiful woman, Pan. In these seventeen years, I've grown not only to love you, but to envy you. I've become enamored with you. I love every part of you from your toes to your bandana, from your sense of humor and compassion to your fiery temper… from your grasp of humanity to your Saiyan strength. I love a woman fourteen years younger than me, a woman who could kick my rear all the way into next week, the only woman on earth who can make me laugh even after a hard day at work. I love a woman who's father is going to tear me apart, but the only woman who I would be willing to go through such torture for." 

"You deserve better…" She said quietly.

Trunks scoffed. "Like who? Yakiniku? Her sister Teriyaki? How about Inari? Oh yeah, they were all joys. I so enjoyed the times they blackmailed me and tried to get into my wallet."

"But I'm not even… I mean… They were so exotic, so gorgeous, they were your type. Maybe you just haven't found the right woman yet."

"Pan… I'm forty years old." He said. "I've been searching for a long time. In case you haven't noticed, _you're_ prettier than any of those little girls were. I've already found the right woman! I didn't grasp it at first… it took me a long time after you left seventeen years ago to realize that it was Pan I loved… the little girl I used to baby-sit for… Pan _and_ Kara. After so many years of thinking this through and agonizing over my feelings, I knew you had to be with me. I love you! I have fun with you and if your father ever knew exactly _how_ attracted to you I am he would wring my neck."

Pan laughed lightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. _'He's attracted to me… and he loves me… Trunks…'_

"Pan… marry me."

"I want to… but this is too soon."

He got back up looking disappointed. In truth, he had just had his heart crushed. "That's okay. We can wait if…."

"It's not that. Trunks, you said it yourself… you're forty years old, I'm twenty-five. Your father and mine have _never_ trusted one another. What makes you think we could work past these obstacles?"

"I know. Believe me, the age difference was one of the foremost things on my mind during the last seventeen years. But once and a while, two people who aren't the same age fall in love. It happens… a cruel trick of fate, God's sense of humor… what ever you want to call it… but it happens. Some of these kinds of relationships work out better than others. It just takes some work. We can do it."

"Over a fourteen year span?"  
  


"Well, think of it this way… When this all started, you were three years older than me."

Pan chuckled a bit, her face finally lighting up and her tears drying.

"You know, while I was in the past, I actually had headaches and nightmares because of the guilt I felt."

"I forgot to tell you…" He interrupted. "Those weren't from guilt. Your headaches were side affects of the time travel in addition to the stress you were feeling at that time. The rest of your medical tests came in this morning and they confirmed it."

"Really? Those were killer headaches. I only got them when I was around you." 

"Yeah… that might have been due to the temporal difference or something. I don't know. Time travel's still a mystery to us." He laughed lightly. "I bet the morning we woke up together was miserable then."

Pan didn't really see the humor in it. "I felt like I was going to die."

"I'm sorry…" He began, suddenly serious again. "What were the nightmares of?"

"They were just nightmares… nothing important." She denied.

"I'm sorry." He repeated softly.

She looked up at him and smiled lightly. "I don't know if this can work." She said sadly, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

"We have to try." He whispered into her ear. "Please… Pan… I love you."

"Trunks…" She started.  "I still… I need to think about this. If I answer you now, I could end up messing up our entire lives."

Trunks smiled tenderly. "Look." He turned the ring over, and as she got a closer look at it, she felt her heart pound. There, inscribed in the gold, were three words, 'True Love Waits.' "Take all the time you need. I can wait." He said, leaning down and kissing her again as he slipped the engagement ring over her finger.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	14. Chapter 13c

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Why don't I come in with you?" Trunks asked, holding her hands as they stood on the lighted porch in front of her door.

"I don't think it would be such a good idea. I have no clue how he'll react." She replied. "Plus, we've been gone for so long, who knows what ideas will be running through his head."

"Pan…" He said, pausing a bit to admire her appearance under the warm porch light. "It's only eight o'clock. It's not like you've been gone long enough for us to have…"

"I know, but he's a father. Trust me, he'll overreact."

Trunks stroked her chin with his thumb caringly as he tilted her head upward to his eye level. "If… if we _do_ get married, then this will only be the first of thousands of appearances we're going to have to make together as a… as an item… a couple. It's better we start with your parents… so they can get used to the idea."

Pan sighed, pulling out her keys and unlocking the door. "Just… let me do all the talking. Please?"

"Yes sir." He joked.

Pan unlocked the door and quietly stepped inside, Trunks following closely behind her. The room was almost completely dark, being solely illuminated by the light of the television screen which sat in the living room to the right of them. Pan sighed in relief when she saw her parents cuddled up together and asleep on the sofa. Maybe they could deal with this at a later time. 

"You're home late." Gohan spoke with his eyes still closed, causing Pan and Trunks both to jump, startled. "Goten called. He said Dende told him that a day in the ROSAT would have to be enough. He also said to be up at Dende's lookout by seven tomorrow morning."

"Okay… thanks." Pan answered, quietly.

Videl stirred in her husband's arms as she woke up… alerted by his deep voice speaking with someone. She sat up groggily and looked towards Pan, slightly confused at why Trunks was standing behind her, gi and everything. "What have you been up to?" She asked her daughter.

"Uh… what do you mean?" Pan asked nervously.

"You've been gone for seven hours. What were you doing?" Videl asked.

"Well… uh.. T-Trunks was giving me a gift." She stuttered nervously.

"Really? What did you get?"

"Umm… he bought me Sloshy's."

"As in the ice cream place you guys always used to hang out at?!" Gohan asked, poking his head up from the program on TV. "That's a pretty expensive 'welcome back' present."

"He bought me a puppy too… She's over at his house."

Gohan looked back up at his daughter, taking note of the nervous looks on both of their faces… especially on Trunks' face. _'Why would he buy her a puppy? A man only buys a woman a puppy if they're…'_ Gohan snapped out of it, a fatherly, protective, light going on in his head. "Is everything… okay?"

Pan twirled the ring around her finger nervously while trying to hide it at the same time. "Daddy… can I… talk to you outside?"

"Sure." He agreed, following her through the kitchen and out the back door.

Pan sat down on the slightly damp, wooden step. Her gaze instantly drifted upwards to the stars… as if they held some sort of answer, or script on how a conversation like this was supposed to go. Unfortunately, they didn't. "Daddy… a puppy and the ice cream parlor wasn't the only thing Trunks bought me." She said, pulling her sleeve up and holding her left arm out so he could see the shiny stone and golden band perfectly as they reflected in the light from the kitchen that was shining out onto the little wooden deck. "He also bought me this."

"Why?" He asked, his ki rising as Trunks looked out nervously from the kitchen table beyond the sliding glass doors. His tone became one of contempt. "That's a little steep in price just to welcome back a _friend_."

"Why would any man buy a woman a ring like this?"

"I don't know… but I certainly hope it's a friendship ring." He said, jaw slightly clenched.

Pan took it off of her finger and handed it to her father. Gohan inspected it closely, turning it in the light. On the inside of the band, were three words, inscribed into the gold. "True Love Waits…?" He read out loud, "Why…?"

"He asked me to marry him." She confessed quietly.

Gohan exhaled sharply, but said nothing. What was he _supposed_ to say? He didn't even know what was going on. He was, however, hoping this was all some sort of dream that he would eventually wake up from. This morning, he was a husband and the father of two children, now his daughter just gave him news that could change everything…  

"Daddy… I…. I have something to tell you, but you can't get mad at Trunks, it wasn't his fault…" She started, twitching her fingers nervously.

"You broke your promise." He interrupted, realization hitting him like an unkindly brick wall.

Pan looked away and toward the ground. Suddenly, the excitement and sorrow she had experienced earlier that night change to shame, covering her like a cold blanket. More tears… more emotion welled up in her again. Taking interest in the dirt under her feet, unable to look her father in the eyes, she continued, "I know you're ashamed of me…"

"No." He interrupted, grabbing her chin gently and forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Panny, I could never be ashamed of you. We all make mistakes. I just… I'm surprised…"  
  


"But you were so proud when I made that promise…"

"Pan… your mother and I never… I mean, we didn't want to have… sex before we were married because we didn't want to end up hurting ourselves or creating a life before we were ready." He started, choking out the words like they were the hardest on earth to say. In a way, they were. "But we came close to making the same mistake several times."

"Really?" She asked, surprised to hear such a confession from Mr. Spotless himself.

"Yeah… In fact, if it weren't for your nosey, ten year old uncle and his habit of spying on us while we were saying goodnight, you might have had an older sibling."

Pan laughed, mostly out of tension and the awkwardness that both of them were feeling at that moment. "But you didn't…"

"No, but I know hard it is to wait sometimes." He said. "Just… tell me… why? And when? Last time I checked, Trunks held the same status with you as your uncle. Don't tell me this all just happened today. I know you were gone for a while, but if that's what you spent all these hours doing then…"

"No, Daddy. It's sort of ironic… but the promise was broken even before it was made."

"You mean you weren't even sixteen when he…!"

"No! Dad! That's not what I meant!" She said quickly, trying to prevent him from going Super Saiyan.

"Then what did you mean?!" He yelled.

"It's kind of a long story..." She began.

"I have time…" Gohan said, staring out of the corner of his eye at the innocent-looking and _weaker_ demi-Saiyan who was sitting at their kitchen table and wondering how much energy it would take to kill him and if he could do it without Vegeta killing him in turn.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Videl looked up sharply as she felt her husband's ki surge upward. She smiled softly, knowing that the next few months were going to be full of wedding plans and preparations. Trunks, however, was not smiling. In fact, he was white as a sheet, sweat drops falling slowly down his face as he stared out at Pan and Gohan who were still talking. He gulped as he felt Gohan's ki go up and the glare come from the corner of his eye.

"Well, he's sure worked up about something." Videl said, pouring herself a cup of tea at the kitchen counter.

"Yeah…" Trunks answered dryly, wondering how much longer he had to live.

Videl smiled at the scene in front of her. She remembered seeing the exact same look on Gohan's face so many years ago when they told her father of their engagement. Her father, however, was considerably weaker than Gohan. Trunks wouldn't stand a chance if Gohan decided to attack. For some reason, Videl was finding it all rather funny. "Do you want some tea?"

"No thanks." He answered plainly, his attention drawn to the father/daughter talk going on outside the glass doors in front of him.

"Are you sure? I have tension tamer. It might do you good. You look really stressed." She chuckled.

Trunks looked over at her, unnerved by the seemingly evil laughter that came from deep within her throat. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Videl poured more hot water into a cup and put the tea inside. "So… when's the big day?" She asked, handing him the cup. 

"Huh?" He asked innocently.

"I'm not as oblivious as her father, Trunks." She said sitting down next to him. "I saw the ring. I knew from the beginning that all of these conservative 'investments' you were making had to do with a woman. I also saw the hug you gave her yesterday afternoon. _That_ was not the hug of two friends."

Trunks swallowed his tea hard. "I… I don't…"

"You don't have to be afraid of _me_. What am _I_ going to do, pour your tea down your pants?"

"I wouldn't put it past you."

Videl smirked, being as mischievous as the young Saiyan sitting with her at times, the thought _did_ cross her mind. "I don't get it though… When did this happen?"

"Honestly, Videl, I don't remember that much about it. It happened seventeen years ago. I've been in love with her ever since." 

Videl nearly dropped her cup. Deciding to wait for Pan's side of the story, she went back to drinking her tea. _'Seventeen years ago?! He must really love her.'_

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Daddy?" Pan asked, looking at her father's still features, concerned. "Daddy, you haven't said anything in a while…"

"I'm just thinking, Pan." He said quietly. "Are you pregnant?"

"No, thank goodness." She answered.

Gohan shook his head thankfully. "He's fourteen years older than you."

"I know…"  
  


"He's closer to _my_ age than to yours." He interrupted. "He's this big-time CEO with the reputation of having a different girl on his arm every week. He's irresponsible, and fickle."

"Dad, he's not like that. You _know_ him. How do you know…"

"He's Vegeta's son! He's only had one serious relationship in his entire life! How do you know that he feels the way about you that he says he does?!" Gohan shouted.

Pan looked at her father, expression sunken, "He remembers…"

"Huh?"

"He remembers everything… that happened in the past. When I sprayed him with the formula, he fell into the lake. The water washed out the formula before it could take effect. He remembers… That was seventeen years ago. He's waited all this time for me…"

"He waited? What about Marron and all of the other girlfriends he's had?"

"Dad, he wasn't sure of his feelings. He didn't know if he could wait seventeen years. His break-up with Marron is what made him certain that he…" She trailed off, thinking that her father wasn't really listening to her.

"He waited for you all this time?" He asked, solemnly.

"Yes."

Gohan looked out into the stars, his brow furrowed in concentration as his mind tried to process everything that was happening. Trunks… his long time friend… was in love with his daughter… and wanted to marry her. As he thought back, memories surfaced, clues that should have alerted him to there being something more between them than plain friendship. The way he had insisted staying with her while she was on her way to the wormhole, the concerned look on his face when she landed, not knowing whether or not she was alive, the way he looked at her when he saw her in a towel… Gohan sighed… the truth burning deeper into his heart with each thought. He really did care about her… "Pan, I don't know if this is such a good idea. Are you sure you feel the same way or are you acting on some sort of attraction? Maybe you just need…"

"I love him." She interrupted. 

"Are you _sure_?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure." She answered, her voice breaking with emotion. "I wasn't sure before, but I am now."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Do you know how humiliating it is… to love someone you never thought could love you back? When we were in the past, he finally saw me in the same light I had looked at him in for all these years. He told me he loved me… then he showed me he loved me. Today, he proved it. Dad, I've been in love with him since I was a little girl. He's warm, handsome, caring… He's fun to be with… I love him."

"So you're going to marry him?" He asked, a look on his face that could break her heart.

"I don't know, but I'm leaning towards it. I have an entire year to think about it while Goten and I are in the ROSAT, so it won't be such a drastic decision."

Gohan breathed deeply, pulling her into his arms. Looking up to the stars, silently cursing Dende for pulling his little girl into the arms of that particular man, yet thanking him that he was at the same time. They were taking things slowly… thinking things through and she _wasn't_ pregnant… It seemed that they had things together by themselves. "You know." He spoke into her ear, holding her in his arms like he did when she was a small child. "No matter what you decide… I'll accept it. After all, if you really do love each other, I couldn't really do anything about it anyway."

Pan smiled and hugged her father back. "Thanks Dad." She whispered.

They stood there for a moment, Gohan not wanting to let the young woman in his arms go. When he did, she knew she would return to the arms of the other man in her life… the one she was about to start a new life with. This killed him inside, even though he knew that this day was coming. Before he knew it, he would be walking her down the aisle, giving her away to him for the rest of her life.

"I think we should go inside now." She said.

Gohan sighed and pulled away, releasing her. For a moment he simply stared at her, wondering silently where his little girl went. "Okay Panny."

Trunks stood up, nearly knocking the table off its legs as the two made their way back in from the porch. Pan walked up to Trunks and took his hand, glancing back at her father and smiling.

"Gohan…" Trunks began.

"You have ten seconds." Gohan warned, wearing the meanest looking expression he had in him. "Ten… nine…"

Trunks' complexion went completely white once again as he tore his hand out of Pan's. Without even protesting, he ran out the door and flew into the air.

"Daddy!" Pan said, scolding the now laughing Gohan.

"I'm sorry honey, I couldn't help it. He looked so scared." He laughed.

Pan growled lightly as she took off into the air after Trunks. Inwardly, she was laughing though. Mostly, she was grateful that her father still had a sense of humor.

"Are you okay?" Videl asked, coming up from behind her spouse and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Yeah… I'm just glad she's happy." He answered.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The next day, everyone gathered at Dende's lookout to say goodbye to Goten and Pan as they left for a year of training in the ROSAT. Every thing seemed normal when Gohan and Videl arrived with Goku Jr. It was still early in the morning and Goten and Marron hadn't shown up yet. Pan, however, had left their home at sunrise. She told her parents that she wanted an early start, but it was obvious that she was headed to Capsule Corp first.

Gohan smiled as he saw his old friend walk up to greet him. "Good morning Gohan." The soft-spoken Namek said, extending his hand to shake Gohan's.

"Good morning Dende. Have you seen Pan?" Gohan asked.

"She and Trunks went to go take a walk in Mr. Popo's arboretum. They should still be in there." He answered.

Gohan thanked him and walked over to the small glass dome that had recently been built to the right of the throne room near the edge of the lookout. Videl followed, just in case Gohan's temper about Pan's could-be engagement to Trunks would flare up again once he saw them together.  

Abruptly, Gohan stopped in his tracks, causing Videl to bump into him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I think it's going to be a while before I get used to that." Gohan remarked, trying to restrain himself from interrupting the couple underneath a tree inside the glass dome.

Videl smiled as she looked inside. The two seemed… comfortable together, to say the least. Trunks had his back to the tree, Pan sitting snuggly in his lap, her head rested against his chest and eyes closed… as if she was falling asleep. Trunks had his arms wrapped loosely around her waist, holding her hands in his and playing with her fingers. They were smiling… content with their surroundings. 

Videl took her husband's arm and led him away from the arboretum, giving Trunks and Pan a few more minutes of privacy. _'And she still doesn't know if she's going to marry him? She doesn't know what she'd be missing if she says no.'_ She thought, pulling Gohan to a reasonable distance away from the view of the two love birds.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Pan… have you made up your mind?" Trunks asked the sleepy-eyed girl in his arms.

"No, not yet." She answered.

"Well… what answer are you _leaning_ towards?"

"Trunks…"

"Sorry." He said apologetically.

Pan yawned and sighed… ready to go back to slumber land. It would be so nice… sleeping in his arms for the rest of her life… "I'm _leaning_ towards just staying right here forever."

Trunks chuckled, placing a light kiss on her shoulder. "Trust me, I wouldn't mind it if you did. I don't think Mr. Popo would appreciate us sleeping on his flower bed though… and I think the bugs would get annoying."

"Trunks…" She began hesitantly. 

"Hmm?"

"Why… why did you ask me to marry you?" She asked, turning her head to the side so she could look him in the eyes.

"Because I love you." He answered simply.

"But… why do you love me?" She asked again. He sighed, trying to think of the words to fit his heart's intention. "I know I sound silly, but it's something I have to know… before I answer you… something I want to think about while I'm in there for the next year."

"I love you… because… you're you." He answered carefully.

"That's not a real answer." She said, laughing lightly.

"I love you because you're the most beautiful, intelligent, fun and strongest woman on the earth." He started before asking, "Do you want honesty?"

"Of course." She answered, suddenly apprehensive about his next words.

"Honestly… I might not have seen you this way if it weren't for your trip to the past… but I would have been an idiot to miss it. 'Kara' opened my eyes to Panny… and for seventeen years, the foremost thought on my mind was how much I missed _you_. For seventeen years, I saw Panny grow up into this gorgeous woman… who could kick me into shape when I was lazy, but also remind me that there's more to life than just constant work. Suddenly, one day, I opened my eyes and realized that you were the one for me. If I didn't have you, I knew I would die a lonely, miserable man."

"You're trying to guilt me into an answer, aren't you?" She joked.

He laughed lightly, "No, but I want you to know how much I need you while you spend the next year deciding our fates."

"And our ages…?"

"Will you drop the age issue?" He said, kissing the top of her head. "I don't care about that. When I fell in love with you seventeen years ago, you were a twenty-five year old woman. You're still that woman… except now, I've grown up a little bit more as you've stayed the same. Besides, after you come out, we'll only be _thirteen_ years apart, not fourteen."

"Wise answer." Pan said, sighing as she sunk back into his arms and relaxed. "So… when was this 'one day' when you woke up and realized we were meant for each other?"

"The day I broke it off with Marron. Your training was ending. I spent the night talking with you and when I woke up… you were in my arms. That's when I realized just how much I enjoyed waking up with you."

"You know… I never bought that 'force of habit' bit." She said.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently.

"When I woke up, you had your arm around me. You made some lame excuse about it being a force of habit…"

"Oh… you remember that?" He asked, smiling mischievously.

"You…"  
  
A knock on the glass interrupted her. She looked up to see a slightly disturbed looking Goten. He obviously had not talked to her parents yet.

"Time to go…" She said sadly.

Trunks sighed and inhaled the scent of her hair one more time… trying to imbed it into his mind. To him, she would only be gone a day… but one, long day was torture enough. He carefully got up with her and escorted her outside the arboretum where Goten stood, dumbfounded at the sight he had just seen. 

"Hi, Uncle." She greeted cheerily.

"Hi…" He replied softly, giving his long time best bud a sideways glance as they walked past him.

"Are you ready?" She asked. 

"Yeah, just about." He answered unsurely.

Pan looked around. It seemed that no one else was going to show. She silently wished that her little brother and Grandfather were there to meet up with her, but she would see them in a year, after all… and they would remain the same. 

"Tell Grandpa to come back up here after we're out. I want to test my training." Pan told her father as she hugged him tightly around the neck. 

"I will Panny. Take care and don't let Goten push you too hard, okay? You've got your senzu beans, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, Daddy. They're in my pocket."

Gohan smiled and kissed her on the top of her head. 

"Goten, you'll be home in exactly one day, no longer?" Marron asked, seductively purring in his ear.

"Are you kidding? Pan is going to have to knock me unconscious to keep me from leaving that room the moment I step inside." He replied, resting his forehead against hers and looking at her deeply.

Marron leaned up and rested her lips on his for a moment, knowing how long it would be to him before they connected again. The only upside to this would be the "access energy" he would have as soon as he got home. "Well, you be sure and get a lot of rest before you leave the room. I don't want you coming back wounded, tired or sleepy, okay?"

A smirk formed on Goten's lips, knowing exactly what she was implying. "I'll rest up for the trip home on the day we leave." Goten reluctantly pulled himself away from his wife's arms and turned around to grab Pan and leave. His jaw immediately hit the ground when he saw exactly how Pan was saying her goodbyes to Trunks.

His arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground, he pulled her up eye-level with him and kissed her deeply and lovingly. She returned it, knowing this would be the last time in a year he would be able to "plead his case" and therefore wanting to remember every detail, sensation and taste.

Goten looked on in astonishment… wondering what two aliens had abducted his niece and friend. He wasn't quite sure whether to go up and punch Trunks' lights out or be glad that they're together. He looked back at Gohan and Videl. The solemn look on his brother's face and the proud look on Videl's face clued him in to the fact that they probably already knew… but when?

Marron looked back at Videl shocked. Suddenly, all the pieces of Trunks' little puzzle began to fall together. The house, the puppy… the answer was there. They knew it was a woman from the beginning, but who would have thought… _Pan_? Marron looked to Videl again, who mouthed "long story" to her. That would have to do until they could get a chance to talk without any men being present, but she was _dying_ to hear _this_ story.

They broke, and Trunks gently put Pan back on the ground, unaware of the scene they had made in front of everyone… including the earth's guardian himself. He smiled, unsure of what to say in their last moments together.

"I'm sorry." Pan said, breaking the silence. "I know you were all ready to come with me, but…"

"No. I wouldn't have been able to keep up with you. Plus, I think you'll be able to think this whole thing through better without me being with you." He admitted. "But a year in there alone together…"

Pan laughed softly. "My father would have killed you for sure."

"True." He agreed, glancing up at Gohan, who was giving him a glare sharp enough to cut him into pieces.

"I should go now…" She said sadly. 

"Alright… just promise me… promise me you'll think this through?"

Pan nodded and placed another kiss on his cheek. She didn't look back at him as she walked over to her shocked uncle. It took a little force, but she finally got Goten to move to the door, promising to explain the situation the moment they were inside. Trunks watched somberly as they walked down the long, white hall to the wooden door. Mr. Popo opened it, and they entered, disappearing into a thick wall of white light. The light diminished as Mr. Popo shut the door, leaving Trunks to wonder if she would ever come back to him.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Gohan and Videl flew Marron home in their hover car later that night. Now, they were just sitting in the car, in the midst of silence, their brains still trying to process all that had happened in those two days. It was getting dark outside, and stars were beginning to poke out from their mask of sunlight. Videl sat in the passenger's seat, her elbow leaning on the door, her head rested in her hand as she stared out the side window, a solemn happiness written on her face. 

Gohan's eyes were glued to the road, a scowl set on his distinguished features. It wasn't so much that he was against this whole thing… it just didn't compute. The age difference… the friendly older brother/younger sister relationship that they had always carried… the availability of Trunks on the market of single women… Something didn't add up. His scowl grew deeper.

"What's wrong?" Videl asked.

Gohan just sighed, letting his wife know that he really wasn't in the mood to speak of it.

"Gohan… talk to me. Please?" 

"Videl, I-I'm just afraid that they're not doing the right thing." He admitted, keeping his eyes straight ahead. 

"What do you mean?" 

"They've never even liked each other before this. It doesn't add up. One day, they were friends… acquaintances. Now, they're engaged to be married. You and I started out as friends, but then we dated for five years and _then_ and only when we were _sure_ did we even _begin_ to talk about getting married."

Videl sighed, knowing that his overprotective side was surfacing again. "Something happened in the past, Gohan. I know we can't remember it at all, but it was there. Somehow, everything changed. But you must be _blind_ to think that they never even liked each other before this. What about the prom?" She asked.

"He was doing her a favor…"  
  


"Fine, then what about the picture he has of her on his desk? Or the looks they've give each other when they're near?"  
  


"Videl… I'm not saying they don't care for each other. But caring and loving are two different things." He argued. "Couples get divorced every day because they mistake their affection for love."

"Gohan… think about this for a minute. Try to remember all the time Pan's been dumped. What have all of those guys had in common?"

Gohan's face twisted in confusion as he thought about the answer to the question. "I don't know… what?"

"They were all guys that met her one night and asked her out, or knew her from school. As soon as they found out about her strengths, they dumped her. Trunks already knows all of her big secrets. He's been there with her since the day she was born." She argued.

"I know that Videl. That's what makes him a good friend. But I don't think they should be rushing into a relationship just because of something that happened nearly twenty years ago. I mean…" He started, rubbing his temple with his hand. "I know how guys think. Pan even told me that she acted… different in the past. She wore effeminate clothing, wore a lot of makeup, underplayed her urge to fight and even slept with him. These are all things that are very out of character for her. What if… what if he's acting on his memories of the past? Truth is, he could've fallen in love with this girl that was with him seventeen years ago, but is confusing his friendship with Pan for something more."

"Gohan…" She said, "You don't wait seventeen years for someone you only care about as a friend."

"It could happen. Besides, he's been with other women." 

"True, but try to think about it in Trunks' perspective…"  
  


"And what perspective would that be?"

"Honey… Seventeen years ago, they fell in love with each other. Suddenly, he found out that the woman he loved so much was the same little girl he used to _baby-sit. _Don't you think that would bring doubt into _any_ man's mind? Of course he's been with other women. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to be with her. Now he's sure. Look… you remember those two years we spent engaged before we got married because I wanted to finish college?"

"Yeah?"  
  


"What kind of thoughts were running through your brain then? What did you do to get ready?"

"Well, I wanted to get a good job and start saving up. I bought you a ring, we bought a house… I remember that I was scared and at times, unsure of what we were doing… but I knew I loved you and that I wanted to be with you. There were times when it seemed like our wedding date would never come… Waiting for you became one of the hardest things I've ever done. Time seemed to pass so slow on some days…"

Videl smiled and placed her hand on his, which was resting comfortably on the shift stick. "And isn't that what Trunks has been doing? Preparing? Making wise investments and conservative decisions so they'll have a future? Gohan… he loves her. I think we've all known that for a while. It's obvious he's been getting ready to settle down. I think we should be glad that she'll be with someone who can appreciate her strengths and not fear her heritage. Plus, Trunks knows _exactly_ how much stronger you are than him. Trunks is exactly the type of guy we were hoping she'd marry. He's strong, rich, nice, handsome and smart… and he won't hurt her."

"But he's so much older…"  
  


"I'm not going to complain… not after seeing her come home from so many dates in tears after having her boyfriend run away from her in fear. If that's the way boys her age are going to treat her, then maybe she should have shopped outside her age bracket much earlier and saved herself some heartache."

Gohan sighed deeply and returned his eyes to the road. He remembered some of those nights… hearing her cry through her bedroom door. Sometimes, she would let him in to comfort her, but she knew it broke his heart for him to see her like that. It was her blessing and her curse… to have such strength, only to have the people she cared about scared away by it. 

Once, he remembered, after things were going well with a boy, she'd brought him home to meet her parents and grandparents. The boy had lasted in their house for an hour before he was scared off by her Grandfather's large appetite and her Uncle's ability to fly. Gohan remembered going up to his daughter, studying her blank expression as she watched her boyfriend run to his car, dropping and stepping on the bouquet of flowers he had bought her as he stumbled with his keys as he tried to unlock his car door. The look on her face was enough to make Gohan want to snap the boy's neck in two. "There goes another one." She had said, lightly laughing as turned towards her father with an amused mask over her pained and humiliated expression. He wasn't fooled for a second… but she ran upstairs and slammed her door before he had gotten a chance to talk with her… leaving a few fallen tears behind her on the floor below. 

Videl was right… The expression that she had on her face up on Dende's lookout did nothing to resemble the expression she had with any other man. He wouldn't dump her for such ridiculous reasons, or fear her if she suddenly became stronger than him. If anything, he would spar _with_ her… which would probably make her extremely happy. If Trunks would make his little girl happy, then he should be happy for her. "If he hurts her in _any_ way…"  
  


"I know… But you'll be lucky if she leaves anything left of him for you to fight." Videl said, yawning as they continued to drive towards their home.     

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"Uncle? Uncle?" She asked, her voice volume increasing. "Uncle?! Uncle!"

"What?!" He shouted.

"You wouldn't answer me!" 

Goten laughed a little, putting his hand behind his head as he looked at her innocently. "You know, Panny… I think this room is really beginning to play tricks on me."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because…" He started, laughing more and more. "I could've promised anyone that I just heard you say that you were engaged to Trunks! Isn't that ridiculous?!" 

Pan watched as her Uncle had a laughing fit, a sweat drop of annoyance rolling down her face.

He fell off of his chair, having laughed so hard, he lost his balance. "You and Trunks!" He laughed. "That's hilarious!"

"Uncle, this is serious!" She yelled, attempting to reach above the man on the floor's laughing.

"That was really clever though. You really had me going! How'd you get Trunks to kiss you like that?!" He asked, his laughter subsiding, only to pick up again.

Pan sighed in frustration as she rolled up her sleeve. She wasn't sure why she brought the ring with her, but Trunks had insisted on it... probably so that she would have something to remember him by. Goten looked up at her hand as she proudly held it out in front of him. His laughter faded and he stood back up, taking her hand and studying the large, bright stone. 

"T-that looks real." He commented. 

"It is." She said, watching his expression change several times. "So what do you think?"

Goten looked at her skeptically. "Why…?"

"Because he wants me to marry him… and because he loves me." She added… a warm, unfamiliar rush sweeping through her. "He loves me."

"N-no… you can't get married to Trunks." 

"Why not?!" She snapped defensively. 

"You're… He's… This… this isn't happening! Tell me you're not getting married to Trunks!" He shouted.

"I don't know yet! I haven't given him an answer. I wanted to talk to you, since you know him better… and I thought being in here would give us a chance to. Why is this so hard to believe?!"

"Wow… Then this is… serious?" He asked, unbelieving at what she was saying. 

"Yep."

"My niece is getting married to my best friend?"

"Maybe."

Goten paced around the room, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I take it… this happened sometime on your trip?"

Pan looked up… astonished that he would've picked up on something like that, yet suspicious at the same time. "How did you know?"

"I… I've seen it in his eyes for a while. I knew he had feelings for you. Before you left, you two were friendly… comfortable with each other like relatives. Now, you're in love? I know Trunks… he doesn't just jump into serious relationships like he used to. So, I just figured the facts… You weren't involved with him before you left and it's been only a day since you've been back. So, something must have happened to you in the past." 

Pan's mouth was opened wide. It was amazing what Goten had just picked up on… something that even her father, one of the most renowned scholars on earth had missed. She sat down on the corner of one of the beds and sighed. "Uncle… while I was in the past, I met up with him… inadvertently. I made up a false name for myself and everything so you, Marron and Trunks wouldn't know who I was. I never meant for it to go any further than an innocent date or two… but it did. Trunks fell in love with me… something I've been dreaming of since I was a child. We continued to see each other, even though I knew I shouldn't. To him, I was Kara Oakie…"

"Kara Oakie?!" Goten interrupted, laughing loudly. "Is that the best you could come up with?!"

Pan slapped his arm. "Shut up!" She yelled, the sound coming back amplified due to the room's strange effects. "I was in the middle of the story."

"Sorry." Goten said, successfully stifling his laughter to a slight giggle. 

"So anyway… to him, I was Kara Oakie… a lie. I felt bad, but I let the relationship continue… a lot further than it should have. Unfortunately, the day I finally broke it off with him, he found out I was… well, me… the eight year-old he baby-sat for. He said some harsh words to me… but in the end, I guess I deserved them. I sprayed him with this stuff Bulma gave me that would erase everyone's memories. I sprayed everyone who had met me, including you, Marron and everyone who was there when my identity was revealed so I wouldn't ruin the time line. I thought that was the end… and I was content with leaving my experimental relationship with Trunks behind in the past… where it belonged. When I got back though, Trunks told me he fell in a pond… and that the water had washed out the spray before it could take effect. He remembers everything that happened between us and he asked me to marry him."  

"And you don't know if you're going to say yes?"  
  


"No, I don't know." She said. "I wanted to hear what you had to say first. You know him better."

Goten sat down on the floor and put his head in his hands. Suddenly, everything made sense. The feelings Trunks had for her, the things he bought for this 'mystery woman', the secrets… but he was _Trunks_, and she was _Pan_. Never in Goten's life did he ever imagine such a match. "Pan…"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think he's good enough for you."

Pan's expression sank. "What do you mean?"

"He's going to be constantly working. He might not be there when you really need him to be. He's never really been in a serious relationship besides with Marron and he doesn't take responsibility very well." He argued… trying to soften the blow. "I'm afraid he'll end up hurting you…"  
  


"Were you ever involved in a serious relationship before you got married?" She asked, interrupting his sentence.

"Just with Paris." He answered, feeling a little beaten at that particular argument.

"You know, he said that his feelings for me was the reason he broke up with Marron when he did…"

Goten's expression changed curiously as he scratched his head. "Well… um… he _has_ been a pretty loyal friend… and if he says he loves you…"

Pan chuckled a bit. "And suddenly your opinion changes."

"So what are you going to do?" He asked.

Pan sighed and collapsed back on the bed. "I don't know…"

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Sounds of screaming and the occasional disapproving grunt was all Trunks could hear in his current state. He was sitting in a chair, his mother with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, squeezing much harder than any normal human could. His father was sitting across from him, frowning at the show of affection going on in front of him. Finally, Bulma released Trunks from her death grip and returned to her seat, a large smiled still plastered on her face as if it were glued there.

"Well, I'm glad you took it well." Trunks said, still recovering from the attack made on him by his mother. 

"I can't believe it!" Bulma squealed. "And all this happened seventeen years ago?!"

"Yeah… about then. I guess it's a good thing our memory spray had a defect…"

"We should improve on that." His mother noted, suddenly switching gears to the inventive side of her brain.

"Mom… I only built the time machine to make sure that Pan would get sent into the past. I never thought we'd actually use it for anything else." He fessed up.

Bulma looked at him sadly. For a moment, Trunks thought he was in trouble. "Ooh! My son is so romantic!" She yelled, getting up and hugging him again. "I can't believe you went to so much trouble just so Pan would fall in love with you again!"

Trunks forcibly tore his mother's arms from around him. "Mom… is this… I mean… It _is_ Pan. She's considerably younger than I am. You don't think this'll get the business in trouble or anything, do you?"

"Of course not!" She yelled, causing both the Saiyan men at the table to cringe. "CEO's marry younger women all the time!"

"Okay… I was just checking."  
  


"So… you really love her?" Bulma asked, dreamy eyed. Trunks had a feeling she was about to go off into her own little world in a minute…

"Of course I do…"

"I mean really, _really_ love her?"

Trunks chuckled slightly. "Yes Mom, I love her very much."

"Ooh!" She squealed. "I can't wait for the wedding! I can't believe we're going to be related to Son and Chichi and Gohan and Videl… I can't believe that cute little girl who used to run around here all the time is about to be my _daughter-in-law_!"

"She hasn't even said _yes_ yet. I wouldn't do any planning if…"

"Planning!" She interrupted. "We have to get on that right away! Let's see, we can use the reception area at the Corporate building for the reception… and of course, we'll need a cake…"

"Chocolate…" Vegeta chimed in… saying the first word he had said all night.

"And dresses…" Bulma trailed off… "I've got to tell your sister! She's going to be the Maid of Honor, after all."

A sweat drop rolled down the side of Trunks' face as he saw his mother literally run like the wind towards his sister's room. A few seconds later, even louder screaming and squealing could be heard. Trunks and Vegeta were both thankful that Bra's bedroom was all the way down the hall at that moment…

Trunks turned awkwardly towards his father. The two men rarely talked… and Trunks could only remember one heart-to-heart moment that had ever happened between them, which was right before Vegeta killed himself in order to destroy Majin Buu. Still, this was an important decision and Trunks wanted his father's view.

"So…" He began… wording his speech carefully. "What do you think of all this?"

Vegeta's disposition remained the same, but he answered. "I find it… disappointing that our blood will be mixed with Kakarott's and the infernal idiots he spawned..."

Trunks frowned, even though he expected that answer from his father. "I know you don't like the Sons, but…"

"Don't interrupt me boy." Vegeta said sharply, causing Trunks to jump back slightly in surprise. "I don't like Kakarott and his foolish brats. However, given the choices, she _is_ the strongest female available and therefore, the most beneficial to our blood line. I think she will serve a great purpose in keeping our family line strong and creating powerful offspring."

Trunks' jaw dropped to the table. "You approve?!" He asked in astonishment.

"Isn't that what I just said?!" His father snapped.

Trunks certainly did not want to question him further. He was surprised by his father's answer, to say the least. After all the hate that boiled in Vegeta's blood towards Goku, Trunks would have thought his father would be the one most opposed to the union. 

"Father?"

"Hm?" Vegeta grunted.

"You don't think she'll say 'no', do you?" He asked, hoping his father would talk to him about this… and alleviate his doubt.

"She'd be a fool not to marry a member of the royal line of her ancestors." He answered.

"Well… I mean… Saiyan's have so many telepathic and telekinetic abilities… Isn't there… some sort of _bond_ that forms between a male and female Saiyan when they mate? Isn't she like… marked as mine forever now? Never to leave my side and to always hear my thoughts?"

"A mark?" Vegeta asked, suddenly interested in what his son was saying.

"Yeah… like a bite on the neck or something? I bet the Saiyans have some natural mating instinct that keeps two mates together for life… like a Saiyan bond. If you can…"  
  


"A Saiyan bond?" Vegeta shouted, chuckling at the same time. "A bite on the neck?! What do you think you are, a Vampire?! Did you think about drinking her blood too?!"

Trunks became slightly annoyed as his father's chuckle became a full-blown laugh. "Saiyan… bond…" Vegeta repeated between fits of laughter. "You've been watching too many of those idiotic science fiction movies! I've never heard anything so ridiculous! I…"

"Father…" Trunks spoke, daring to interrupt, but annoyed all the same. "If we have no such instinct… then why have you remained with Mother all these years?"

Vegeta said nothing, but an evil smirk crossed his features. Trunks sighed and shook his head, catching him before he could say anything. "Never mind… I don't want to know."  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

The next morning, Trunks headed out the door. It was still early, but he wanted to get a good head start on the others. His stomach tickled with nervousness… today was the day. He flew up to Dende's tower in record time. He landed, out of breath from straining his ki, and was immediately greeted by Mr. Popo.

"Do not be so nervous." The wise man advised. "You will worry yourself sick this way."

Trunks nodded in agreement… silently wondering what other thoughts the Namek and his assistant were able to read.

"We can read all kinds." Dende said, making an appearance. "Especially when you think so loudly."

Trunks chuckled nervously. "So… are they out yet?" He asked.

"No, but they should be soon. Why don't you wait by the door?" The young guardian suggested.

"Thank you, Dende."

Trunks obeyed and sat against one of the pillars leading in the hallway which led to the brown, wooden door. Within the hour, Goku, Gohan and Videl showed up with Marron and Goku Jr. Only a short time had gone by, but it seemed like an eternity to Trunks. 

"Hi Trunks." Gohan said, reaching out to shake his hand as a sign of good faith.

"Good morning…"  
  
The creak of the door interrupted him. Immediately, all eyes turned towards the entrance to the Room of Spirit and Time awaiting its occupants to step out. A bright light prevented them from seeing anything other than two shadows standing at the doorway. Goten was the first to step out. His clothes were ragged with wear and his body scorn with cuts and bruises. Immediately, he spotted his family at the end of the hallway waiting for him.

"Hi guys. Nice to see you." He greeted politely, before sweeping his surprised wife up in his arms and flying off the edge of the tower… never giving anyone a chance to even see him very well.  

Trunks chuckled as he watched his two friends take off without a formal greeting. It was rather typical of Goten though. He turned his eyes back to the door way again… only to have his breath catch in his throat. There she stood… proud and straight. Her hair was considerably long… draping down her back to spite the fact that it was tied. Her clothes were torn as well. Her tired eyes, worn clothes, and wounded skin seemed to do nothing but make her even more beautiful than she already was. Trunks smiled nervously as she stared at him, unsure of what to do.

And suddenly, Trunks knew… the next words to come from her lips would change his life forever….

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,


	15. End

**Title:** Waiting (Epilogue)

**Author:** Noseless Wonder            

**Status:** COMPLETE!  

**Disclaimer:** If you haven't figured out by now that I don't own DBZ, I'm sure as heck not going to say it again. =P

**Author's Notes:** Scene opens in a dark, damp and gloomy laboratory. Suddenly, lightning flashes and the silhouette of a crazed Noseless can be seen against the wall. "Bwahahaha!" She laughs evilly, holding up a well-worn notebook in her rubber glove covered hands. 

"Finally! It is completed!" She yells in a thick, eastern European accent, clutching the notebook to her chest and cuddling it, slightly hindered by her thick, black pilot's sun glasses and her bulky lab coat. "My work is finished! Now I can take over the world!"

*Ahem* You didn't hear that last part. Anywho, thanks once again to Presea for the ideas and the encouragement to finish this thing. ^_^    

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Pan walked out of the room slowly… sensing her loved ones ahead of her. Her hair blew lightly, coming over her shoulder and into her view. Its increased length served in reminding her of her time in the mystical room… the time she had spent alone… or fighting to survive in the variable and extreme climates the room threw at her. As she slowly neared the group of people at the end of the walkway, she had to remind herself to act normally. One full year of being practically alone with the exception of her uncle had taken its toll on her, but she didn't want that fact to appear obvious.

She was glad to see her parents after all this time, but her focus was on the purple-haired man in the background. He smiled at her, his eyes examining every inch of her, as if he was trying to decipher exactly how much she had changed. She stopped her advancement a few feet in front of them… her eyes searching his. With a small smile, she ran toward him, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck. He laughed and embraced her back… taking this as a good sign. 

Gohan stood back and watched, a sigh escaping his lips. There was no doubt now. Videl looked on worriedly at her husband. His expression solemn and sad… yet his eyes were proud. He looked like a father who had just realized that his child was all grown up. Gohan noticed his wife's concerned look and smiled reassuringly. _'I'm not losing a daughter… I'm gaining a son.'_ He repeated mentally, though it was of little consolation.

Trunks lifted Pan off of the ground, burying his nose in her neck and inhaling deeply. She smelled worn… and tired. He could even smell a hint of scorching that came off her clothes… but Dende, did she smell good. "I missed you." He murmured into her ear.

"Let's take a walk." She said.

She glanced at her parents, silently communicating that her and Trunks needed to talk alone. Gohan smiled and nodded as he watched his daughter walk off with her future. They wouldn't go very far… only to the other side of Dende's lookout, but when they returned, he knew, they would be returning engaged.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Golden hair mixed with midnight black as the wind rushed past them. Goten sped up to incredible speeds, hoping not to hurt the woman in his arms, but very eager to get home. Marron was laughing… enjoying herself as her husband flew daringly over the landscape towards their home. Finally, he slowed, climbing higher in the sky so that the small, populated village below them wouldn't think he was anything more than a bird or a plane if he were spotted. 

"Goten…" She began.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"So tell me about what went on in there…" She said, combing her hair behind her ears. 

"Um… can we do this later? I really just want to get home." 

Marron sighed. "You don't want to talk?"

"Of course I do… I would rather do it when I have more time though."

"Goten…" Marron started, brandishing her patented glare, yet full of playful mischief at the same time, "I don't want to do any talking when we get home. There are better things that we could be spending our time on, you know."

Goten caught the naughty glint in her eye and smirked. "Well, we trained… ate… trained some more… ate some more… slept a little… took a bath every couple of weeks…" 

"Goten!" She snapped, playfully punching him in the arm. "I meant about Pan! What did she decide?"

"I don't know… She never told me… I think she wants to talk to Trunks first."

Marron sighed with impatience. "Well, then what happened with you?"

Goten shook his head, "I don't know if you want to know."  

His wife's expression changed to one of concern as he slowed down in flight. He knew he had to explain sooner or later. "Marron…"

"Goten, what's wrong?"

"Marron… Pan and I… we're very… strong." He stuttered out.

Marron lightly laughed at her spouse's ability to state the obvious. "Duh…"

"Marron, I'm serious." He said with gravity as he stopped completely. 

"What's wrong?" She asked, beginning to understand his severity.

"Honey… Pan and I are the strongest fighters… for now… Unless somebody manages to catch up with us, we're the first ones up to fight the next time something bad comes along. We could end up…"

"I know what the risks are… You don't have to tell me this again." She said, running her hands through his hair. 

"Yeah, I do." He said emphatically, clasping her hand tight within his own. "I don't want to spend the few years we have together fighting and nit-picking over stupid stuff."

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, thinking that his words were directed towards her.

"No, don't… You didn't do anything. _I'm_ sorry. I've been so caught up in my own mortality and fears of what may or may not happen… that I wasn't even able to look past the end of my own nose to see how much I was hurting you. I've been trying to live my whole life in a few months and it's not fair… to me _or_ to you. After spending another year in that room, I realized… we have time. We don't need to rush to have a family just because I'm scared of becoming what my father is. If something _does_ happen to me, then I'll die happy knowing that we cherished every minute we had together." He said. "I want to have a family some day… but not if it means alienating you. I can wait… until we're both good and ready."

Marron sighed as a smile spread wide across her face. These types of words were unique to Goten… who seemed, at times, to be as ignorant about romance as his father. "Thank you," She said softly, " but I've been doing some thinking too."

"About what?" 

"Maybe… maybe we can start, but start _slow_.  I want to have a family too, you know. Now that the pressure's off, I feel a whole lot better about it."

"What are you thinking?" Goten asked.

"I'm thinking that we shouldn't start trying, but we can stop taking 'preventative' measures too.  You know… to see what fate deals us."

Goten's face lit up like a light. "Are you sure?" He asked excitedly. 

Marron chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, I'm sure. I love you, you goof… and I want to have a baby with you."

 Goten laughed and hugged her tightly,  "I love you too… and I promise I'll be less insane about it this time."

"No you won't," She joked, "but at least you'll be back to your old self again."

Goten smiled and resumed his flying. Things would be back to normal… at least for a little while, which Goten was looking forward to. Now he and his wife could settle down again, their greatest worry being about whether or not their niece would marry.  True, there would be more trials ahead for them, but Goten wasn't concerned about them. All that mattered to him at that moment was getting the beautiful woman in his arms to their little house in the woods. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Hand-in-hand they walked slowly to the other side of the dome–shaped rooms, silently passing through columns of white stone intricately carved by Dende's own hand. Pan had a peculiar smile on her face as she closely observed her surroundings. Trunks was watching her attentively, still surveying the changes she had undergone in the mystical room. She sighed contentedly, breathing in the fresh oxygen from the higher sky around them.

"It's been so long since I've even seen a blue sky." She commented. "I had almost forgotten what it feels like to be outside."

Trunks chortled, remembering the vast and eerie white void that seemed to go on for eternity. "That room can do weird things to a person. I'm surprised Goten didn't make a mad run for the exit before your year was gone."

Pan's smile fell slightly. "He knew he had to stay… we both did."

"Pan…" Trunks started, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around to face him, "what happened in there? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just strange… The transformation…" 

"Strange?" He asked, concerned about where this topic was going.

She began to explain, staring off into nowhere. "At times, it was almost like we weren't in control anymore.  It felt like we had ventured outside our bodies and were watching from above. The detachment was very frightening. It felt like something was reaching inside of us and pulling. Uncle and I… we felt like we weren't the ones fighting at all. We got a lot of work done… I can feel it. We're both a lot stronger now…"

"…But?" Trunks said, sensing there was more to the story.

"…but it felt… wrong."  Her brows furrowed and her expression darkened.  "I don't know…"

"Did Goten behave okay?" He asked, afraid her uncle may have been too hard on her.

"Yeah, he did. He felt the same way, though."  She said. "This really stinks. I finally gained enough power to turn into something strong enough to compete with the rest of you guys… and the transformation is no good. Uncle and I both agreed we shouldn't use it unless we really need it. We lose too much control when we fight. Our minds get cloudy and our bodies seem to disobey our commands. If we fight for a prolonged period of time, our bodies seem to deteriorate and disconnect completely from our minds. We could end up dying if we remained transformed for too long. So much power shouldn't be given to someone who can't control it." She said sadly. "If we're ever in a situation where we have no other choice, we'll use it. Other than that, I don't want to risk my life by fighting in that form just for competition."

"I'm sorry." He said sympathetically. 

"No… it's better like this." She admitted. "Besides, at least I can go Super, thanks to you and Uncle."  

He smiled softly. "So, what else did you find out in there?" He hinted.

"I found out that my Uncle snores louder than my Grandfather… which is impressive. I don't know how Marron stands it."

"Earplugs."  
  
She chuckled, "Probably. I also found out that I have a very low tolerance for cold weather. Uncle beat me every time the room iced over. He could never keep up with me after lunch, though. He always took advantage of the refillable food cupboards and by the time he was done, he could barely move, let alone fight."

Trunks laughed lightly. "So…" He started, "did you have very much time to… think?"

Pan sighed. Not having much experience with this sort of discussion, she was finding it all rather difficult. Even though she had an entire year, nothing could've prepared her for what she had to say to him. "Yeah…" She simply replied.

"And…?" 

"…And… I think we need to confer on some things before I can give you an answer." 

"Pan, you're starting to sound like one of my business partners. Haven't we been through this already?" He asked, growing edgy.

Pan cocked an eyebrow. "You were willing to wait seventeen years, yet you become Mr. Impatient at the idea of waiting five more minutes?" She asked. 

A sheepish smile spread across his features as he put his hand behind his head. It did sound kind of stupid, but there was only so much indecision he could take before he dragged her to the alter himself.  "It's my 'CEO mentality'." He said innocently, "I need to know that we've 'sealed the deal'."

Pan scoffed, "You _are_ your mother's son."

"Maybe." He denied. "Whatever your concerns are, we can work through them."

"I know… I just need… confirmation from you."

"About what, that I love you? Do you want me to hold a press conference and tell the world? I will!" He shouted excitedly, realizing how easy it was to say those three precious words to her. "I love you. Just say the word and I will build a space ship and travel around the galaxy, just so I can tell everyone in existence that I love Pan Son."

Pan laughed. "No, we're not going through _that_ again."

"Then what do you need?" He asked emphatically, taking her hands in his.

"I need to know… that you're not going to get bored of me." She admitted quietly.

"Bored with you?!" He asked with surprise. "Every time I turn around, you're getting yourself into some kind of trouble. How can I get bored with you?"

She gave him a dirty glare for that one, but continued. "I just… I need to know that you can separate me from Kara."

"Pan… I promise… Kara existed a long time ago for me. I've fallen in love with Panny only _because_ of Kara." He said earnestly. 

"What about my age? It's…"

Trunks put his fingers over her lips to silence her. "Pan… Stop it… You know I don't care about the age issue."

She shook her head 'yes', unable to answer any other way due to the fact that her mouth was covered.

"I know you have doubts. I know that there are still some things we need to work through before we can really get married…" Gently, he took his hand away from her mouth and got down on his knees in front of her.  "I just want you to know that I mean it when I say I love you. _I… love… you_. I'll make any sort of promise or swear that you want me to, but I know I don't need to. I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. I wouldn't have even asked if I wasn't absolutely sure. I'm totally aware that we have a fourteen year gap between us. Trust me, this is something I figured in a long time ago. I'm not sure how everyone else will take it. I'm not even sure how our family will act. If you have a problem being with such an old man, then we can talk about it… but I _promise_ you that I'm okay with it.  You're a beautiful, intelligent, spunky and strong woman and I love you very much. I _want_ to be with you for the rest of our lives."

"I love you too," She replied softly, slightly choked up from his words, "but your feelings for me appeared virtually out of nowhere. Of course I'm going to have some doubts.  I can work past them, though. I know how you feel already… I just needed to hear it from your own lips. It seems so unreal that a person who I've loved so much for so long can possibly love me back. I needed to hear it one more time." 

A light blush dusted his cheeks. "Well, I do." He spoke. "So how about it? Will you marry me, Panny?"

She was silent at first, twirling the ring around on her finger. Releasing her bottom lip from between her teeth, she replied, "Only if you stop calling me 'Panny'." 

Trunks jumped up and pulled her into his arms, immediately taking her answer for what it was… a 'yes'. Joyfully, he laughed as he swung her around, her arms circling his neck. Her giggles filled his ears like music as he kissed up her chin and her face. 

"I've always hated that nickname." She added. 

Finally, his lips met hers. They savored each taste and moment like it was their last. Finally… finally, Trunks felt complete. For seventeen years he waited. For seventeen years, he felt like there was a piece of him missing. She was in his arms, filling in all the holes and gaps that plagued his heart... kissing him with a love and a passion like neither of them had ever felt before. He knew that the coming months would be difficult. There would be lots of planning, crazy family members arguing over dress style and color, one very _strong_ Saiyan father watching his every move and of course, media exploitation. He could see the headlines already. "Capsule Corp. CEO Marries Granddaughter of Satan; Single Women Everywhere Mourn".  

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

As the sun rose directly over Dende's tower, it was announced. No one was really surprised. Gohan gave his daughter and his soon-to-be son-in-law a hug then flew off. Videl stayed behind for a while and talked to Pan about some girl issues. Mainly, Videl and Gohan had discussed it and decided to put Pan on a temporary curfew, but only if she agreed on it. Pan was surprised and slightly insulted by it. Videl simply explained that it was a way for her to keep herself accountable for keeping her promise, not a way for Videl and Gohan to parent her for just a little while longer. Pan agreed, thinking it was a good idea. She _really_ wanted to keep her promise. Plus, making Trunks wait until their wedding night would probably make for a much "better" honeymoon. 

As the weeks turned into months, things began to take shape. Gohan had many "talks" with Trunks. It was practically a weekly routine. Gohan wanted to make sure that Trunks' head was on straight before he just walked into a lifetime commitment with his daughter. Their talks ranged everything from the basic 'hurt my daughter and I'll kill you' speech to a talk about whether or not Pan would work or stay home. He even went so far as to ask him about birth control. Having such a conservative and over protective father ask him about their future bed habits unnerved Trunks, to say the least. Then again, one of the only upsides about a father losing his daughter to marriage is the prospect of grandchildren. Even though Goku Jr. was still very young, raising grandchildren was a whole different ball game to parents, and Trunks knew that. He could only begin to picture all the text books, tutors and college funds that their child would have, courtesy of his or her grandparents.

Gohan became a lot more comfortable with the idea of Trunks taking Pan away… though he still refused to believe Pan was going anywhere too far from home. Nevertheless, Gohan would keep a close eye on Trunks up until the very day of their wedding. He even insisted on robbing Goten of the best-man's honor of planning a bachelor party… for obvious reasons. Trunks didn't really mind, but he was _really_ embarrassed when all of his friends gave him special 'wedding night' gifts. He seemed to have forgotten to tell everyone that the bride's father, grandfather and uncle were coming to the party too. The worst part was when Goku, having the innocence and ignorance of a child, piped up after each present to ask them what it was and what it did. And some people wonder why ignorance is bliss… Trunks was just thankful Gohan had decided to leave Goku Jr. at home that night.

Despite Trunks' troubles, Pan probably had the worst of it. Bulma, Chichi, Bra and Videl dragged her from store to store for hours on end during several weekends, seemingly uncaring about Pan's hatred of shopping. When it was all done, she had chosen the perfect dress. It wasn't big and puffy and it didn't show too much, but it looked good and she could actually move in it. She also had the perfect bridesmaid's dresses picked out… or so Marron and Bra thought, at least. Oh well… they were the ones who had to wear them. 

Pan was grateful when Bulma piped up and offered to pay for most of the wedding. After all, Videl and Gohan were well-off, but not _nearly_ rich enough to afford the wedding Bulma and Chichi had already planned for them. The cake was five tiers high and was decorated by the most expensive baker around. The food was prepared by a world-renowned chef and the flowers were brought in from several exotic and hard to reach islands. All of this, Pan had the pleasure of choosing. She was rather content with the thought of never shopping again, but she still wasn't out of the woods. Bra and Marron dragged her lingerie shopping one night, which she would have enjoyed if they wouldn't have brought Bulma along… who commented on what _exactly_ she thought Trunks would like and what he wouldn't.      

Finally, after the men and women had their respective planning, shopping and ceremonial traditions finished, they were able to plan together about the actual wedding. A location was chosen out towards South City. It was an old castle-turned-church with stone walls and huge windows. It was one of the only nice places that could accommodate the large crowd that was expected that day. Trunks and Pan tasted samples from the chef so they could decide on what food would be served at the reception, which was to be held in Capsule Corp's main hall. Goten gladly jumped in to help the couple sample and decide on what they wanted. Unfortunately, he ate all the food before they really had chance to taste and compare. 

One week before the wedding, Trunks and Pan finally had some time alone, which they spent planning on where to go on their honeymoon. They cozied  down in the living room of their house and went through brochure after brochure. Eventually, they had the perfect plan. They would spend a week in the mountains, snowed into a tiny, but cozy cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Then, after they grew tired of the cold, they would venture south, toward the southern tourist islands where they could enjoy the sun and the ocean off of their private little rented beach. Lastly, they would spend a week or so at their new home… alone. Parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles were forbidden on the premises during that week, for fear that they would never get any private time. Sure, it was a long honeymoon… but Bulma offered to cover for Trunks while he wasn't there. This was a major surprise to Trunks, who never was able to even call in sick for fear of his mother's wrath. So, he figured they might as well take advantage of the time.  

At last, the wedding was set. They planned for a spring wedding… exactly eight months from the day that Pan exited the Room of Spirit and Time. Everything was taking care of itself now, thanks to Bulma and her desire to be a full-time wedding planner. The couple could just sit back and relax until the big day… which was approaching fast.

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

"I can't believe this is really happening." Trunks said, his head spinning.

"Just take short breaths. You look better. I think some of your color is coming back." Goten said, looking down at his friend in an awkward position. "Just keep your head between your knees and breathe."

Trunks glanced sideways at Goten. "How can you be so calm?!" He asked loudly.

Goten laughed loudly, putting his hand behind his head innocently. "It's not _my_ wedding!"

Gohan chuckled from the corner. "Don't worry Trunks. This is the scariest part of the whole ordeal. Once you get up to the alter and see her there… you'll wonder what on earth you had to be so afraid of." He said, with more than a hint of remorse. 

"Yeah, you should really listen to Gohan here." Goten stated sarcastically. "After all, this is coming from the man who practically had to be _carried_ to the alter."

"Yeah? Well your big day didn't go so well either… Unless you consider puking your guts out on the minister as normal wedding tradition." 

Trunks paled and returned to breathing between his knees. "Look, just remember one thing and you'll be fine."

"And what's that?"  He asked, poking his head up and hoping that Goten suddenly had a cure-all solution to the way his body was betraying him. 

Goten smiled brightly, playfully jabbing him in the side. "Keep your mind on what bed will be like tonight." 

A loud thud resided in the room as Gohan's hand connected with the back of his brother's head. "Jeez, Gohan! I was only kidding!" Goten yelped, nursing the newly formed goose egg on the back of his head. 

An amused scoff sounded from the doorway. "At least Vegeta thought it was funny." Goten grumbled. 

Trunks looked up, surprised to see that his father even bothered to show up. "Ah… I see you wore your 'dress-gi'." He said, slightly frustrated that his father donned black spandex and armor as opposed to a tux. "You know, when Mom sees that, she's not going to let you…"

An angry glare from the Prince stopped him in mid sentence. "You should feel honored." He said sternly, fastening a deep blue cape around his neck. Trunks stood up and quirked his head, his father never wore a cape. It was then when he noticed a white circle on his father's left shoulder, directly over his heart. The writing, etched in gold, was strangely familiar, and yet Trunks couldn't discern what it said. 

"It is our family seal." His father answered the unspoken question. "I… I was… Well…" He stumbled, finding the words frustratingly hard to come by. It was rather humiliating. "Your mother replicated more, and it would be shameful to the royal family of Vegeta if you were wedded without wearing the crest you've inherited. I've given one to your bride as well. She has earned the right to wear it and I will not have my new daughter walking into our family without official approval from me."         

Trunks' jaw dropped as his father placed the pendant over his left lapel. Gohan and Goten were silent behind him, watching in amazement at Vegeta's words and actions. His face still set in a deep frown, Vegeta said nothing more as he swiftly walked out the door. 

"What… what just…?" Trunks began, still staring wide-eyed at the spot where his father had been standing. He looked down at the symbol on his chest. Ironically, he felt a sense of pride by wearing it. More so, he was touched by the step that Vegeta had taken. He had no idea his father felt so strongly about this joining. 

Gohan sighed in the background. Now, even Vegeta had accepted Pan as a part of his family. They were really going through with this thing… "I'm going to go get Pan." He said quietly. "You guys better get lined up, this is your five minute warning."

Suddenly, Trunks remembered how sick he had felt just a moment before and nearly collapsed onto the ground. Only five minutes… Only five minutes…

"Oh, no you don't." Goten said, hoisting his friend back up to his feet. "Just remember to keep one knee bent at all times, and don't puke on the minister. You're going to get through this day alive if it kills me." 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,

Gohan walked down the hall and around the sanctuary of the large, stone church. The women were on the other side of the building, undoubtedly still fussing over each other despite the short time they had left. The walk gave Gohan a chance to see the main church. People were buzzing all over the place, trying to find their chairs before everything started. Gohan really didn't know most of the people in the building. He figured they were business associates or extended family of the Briefs. There were even members of the press present, cameras excluded, to cover the ceremony in detail. These people seemed to know Gohan though. He wasn't able to go two steps without someone walking up and shaking his hand while offering congratulations.

The nervous father smiled politely and nodded as person after person stopped to bid well the father of the bride… but he didn't really feel like being congratulated. Eventually, he made his way to the bride's room. Hearing the loud giggling and arguing going on behind the door, Gohan debated whether or not it was worth getting in the middle of. They sounded busy… and he knew from experience that proceeding unguarded into a room full of emotional women was asking for trouble.  Gently, he knocked on the door, wondering if they were even aware of the time. 

"Who is it?!" Bulma snapped, suspicious that Trunks would try to grab a sneak peek before the ceremony.

"It's Gohan." He answered timidly.

Loud shuffling and even more excited noises came from the room as Gohan continued to stand there.  He could only imagine the torture that his daughter was going through. Suddenly, the door opened and his wife was standing in front of him, though blocking his view from the rest of the room. 

"Is she ready? We're supposed to get lined up now." He asked.

"Gohan…" Videl started, not as gleeful as Gohan would have thought she would have been. 

"What's wrong?" Concern laced his voice.

"She's so nervous."  Videl whispered. "I don't know if she's going to make it through this thing." 

Gohan's jaw dropped slightly. "What?"

"Look, I know you would probably like nothing more than to hear her say she's changed her mind, but she could _really_ use your encouragement right now.  I know you probably don't want to…"

"Videl," Gohan interrupted. "Let me in so I can see her."

Videl sighed and opened the door for him.  Pan was standing in the middle of the room… the sun beating in the window and casting a golden glow on her. His heart sank as she turned to face him. Her white gown flowed around her form and hugged her waist. Her veil poured down her back into a small puddle on the floor. Her face was bright and perfect, done up with makeup and rosy from her anxiousness. 

"Hi Dad." She greeted softly. 

"Hi." He responded in a whisper, still taking in the sight in front of him.

"Well?" Pan asked, laughing nervously. "What do you think?"

"You're beautiful." He said solemnly.  "It's not fair that Trunks gets to keep you."

She laughed again, playing with her fingers and blushing. "Is it time?"

"We have a few minutes."

"Oh…"

"But we should be heading out to the lobby. Everyone else is about ready."

"I should go make sure my son is… still conscious."  Bulma said, hoping to allow Gohan and Pan one more moment alone. 

"We should go get lined up too…" Videl added, literally shoving Chichi, Marron and Bra out the door before her. 

Pan watched them go as the butterflies in her stomach increased ten fold. So close…  Why was this taking so long?! Gohan looked down at her, concerned. She was about in as good of shape as Trunks was when he left. 

"Did you see what Vegeta gave me?" She asked, suddenly perking up as she turned and showed him her pendant. The small circle of gold was fastened securely at her waistline, just where her bodice met her flowing skirt. She kept it at her left side, directly under her heart, as Vegeta had instructed. 

"Yeah… Who would have thought Vegeta would do something like that…" He trailed off. "I don't have anything to give you." He realized, wishing he would have had the foresight, and feeling ashamed that Vegeta had presented such a meaningful symbol, while he had come empty handed.

"Dad…" Pan started,  "You've already given me my wedding present."

Gohan looked up at her, slightly confused. Pan smiled and held out her bouquet. The ribbon holding the flowers together had something hanging from it. Gohan held it in his hand, smiling as he recognized it. Her promise ring…

"I won't exactly be needing it after today," She said, blushing as she realized the implications of what she had just said. "but I wanted it with me when it was replaced by another ring. If I ever have a daughter, I would hope that it would mean as much to her as it meant to me…" 

Gohan smiled. "Do you have any idea of how proud I am of you?"

Pan laughed awkwardly and turned her head away. "Isn't a little late for this kind of talk?"

"You're right." He said. "You and I are due for a little walk right about now."

He held out his hand to escort her down the hall… and the aisle. She smiled and put her hand in his. His head snapped up. "Pan, you're shaking like a leaf! What's wrong?" 

Pan shook her head and smiled, as if there wasn't anything wrong at all. "It's nothing, Dad… I'm just… scared to death." Her face fell as moisture gathered in her eyes.

Gohan's mind was screaming at him to do the wrong thing, though his heart knew better. What he _wanted_ to do was to tell her that she shouldn't go through with it, that her fears were justified and that there was a warm bed waiting for her back at home. What he _needed_ to do on the other hand was to tell her the truth.  Her happiness meant more to her than his life, after all. "Everyone gets scared, Pan."

"It's more than that." She admitted, water falling freely down her face from her eyes. 

"I know…" He answered her, wiping the tears away before they fell on her dress. "I've been through this too." 

She smiled softly, though she really didn't feel any better. "Wasn't there ever a time where you might have felt… tired, or disappointed of your marriage?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not sure at first how to answer that. "Well…"

"You can tell me the truth. I need to know what it's like for _you_... as a man."

"Honestly," He started, "yes. I can't lie to you. There have been many times when your mother and I have had to take a break from each other. There were times where… we really had to sit down and discuss how important our relationship really was to us."

Pan's expression became worse as he continued. He knew of her insecurities… Trunks had mentioned them in one of their many little 'pre-wedding' talks. "Pan… It's natural. When you share so much of your life with someone for such a long time… your patience is going to wear thin once and a while. I love your mother more than anything. I wouldn't throw away thirty years for nothing… No matter how tired or frustrated I get."

Pan expression still remained the same. Obviously, she _still_ wasn't feeling any better. "Pan… Trunks is not going to be disappointed in you. If he is, I swear I will beat him so hard that he _never_ recovers. He loves you, and right now, he is at the other end of that aisle waiting for you." There… he said it… the 'right' thing.

Pan smiled and hugged her father around his neck tightly. With a renewed sense of joy, despite the few words said, she took his arm and headed off to the front lobby.  

By the time they got to the two closed doors leading into the sanctuary, everyone else was lined up. Bra was at the front of the line, being the maid of honor. Bulma had thought it would look better for each person to walk down the aisle as a pair, so Goten was places next to her, instead of at the altar, ready to escort her to the front of the church. Marron was next, walking with the head usher, whom she did not know. She had heard that the guy worked at Capsule, and Bulma thought he would look good in the wedding. Videl was behind her. Normally, the mother of the bride would walk the aisle alone. However, Bulma was strictly enforcing the 'pair' rule… and Pan really wanted her Grandfather Goku to be there too.  Since Goku and his wife never had a daughter, Chichi thought it would be really nice to see Goku get to walk  at least _someone_ down the aisle.

Goku Jr. covered the end of the line. Being the ring bearer was a big responsibility, but he was up to it, and was rather curious about this 'wedding' thing. All he knew was that Trunks would be his brother as soon as this thing was over, which he was elated about. The small boy eyed the pillow cautiously. His Uncle had threatened his freedom if the small rings got lost. What was so important about a couple of stupid gold things anyway? He looked over at the girl next to him. Alysa was the six year-old daughter of the Senior Vice President of Capsule Corp. She was kind of pretty, Goku thought, even with her finger stuffed up her nose. Her job was to throw flower petals on the floor… Go figure the adults would let _her_ have all the fun with making a mess.

Finally, Pan and Gohan took their place in the back. Slowly, the double doors were opened, and the music started. Each couple slowly made their way in, stepping with the soft, gentle beat of the music. Pan squeezed her father's hand one more time as the rest of the party made their way to the front and took their places.  Sooner than Pan expected, the organ started playing the ageless classic that cued her in and every person in the room stood up and gazed at her. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as they took that first step and her feet met the red carpet and rose petals below.  Panic struck her as she realized that the hem line of her dress was just a little too long for her.

_'Dende, PLEASE don't let me trip on my dress! Please don't let me trip on my dress! Please don't let me trip on my dress!'_ She repeated mentally. 

Trunks stood straight up as the wedding party made their way past him. To him, it seemed to take an eternity. Why did the wedding party have to have to many people in it?! Goten took his place at Trunks' side and elbowed him in the ribs lightly, just to make sure that Trunks had any sensation left in his body at all. As soon as the organ started playing his stomach tied up into hundreds of little knots. His eyes glued forward, he saw his bride coming into view.

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. She was so beautiful… Silently he wondered how on earth he had waited seventeen years in the first place. He longed to run his hands through her black hair and embrace her right then and there. His hands shook as she stopped right in front of him… only inches away. Even through the veil, her eyes managed to pierce his being yet again. She looked almost as nervous as he was. 

The hardest moment of Gohan's life came seconds afterward… when the minister asked who it was who was giving the bride away. Gohan placed her hand in Trunks and answered that it was he and his wife. Nothing on earth could have prepared him for the deep feeling of  heart break that came to him as he walked back to sit next to his wife. Fighting Cell and Buu had nothing on this…

The rest of the ceremony went quickly. Short and sweet, just the way they wanted it. As Trunks delivered his vows, the room was led to tears. He really didn't want to open up so much in front of so many people, but what he wanted to say _had _to be said. He had eight months to try his best to put his feelings into words. He had waited so long for this day so he could tell her, finally, exactly how he felt and he wasn't about to chicken out. 

"I spent my life 

Trying to survive. 

Walked down these roads, 

Hoping each one might lead me home. 

I learned early on, 

That trust can come undone 

And leave your heart 

Guarding its deepest part. 

But you got through the marrow and bone; 

Shed some light where none had shone. 

How lost I felt 

I was missing love, missing love. 

I fought to stand my ground, 

But I was missing love, missing love. 

Can you teach me 

To live as one who's free 

From fear and from shame 

And the lie that I'll never change? 

Help me to see myself through my lover's eyes; 

No more mask, no disguise. 

You found me and made me whole again… 

My savior, my friend."

The rings were placed on the fingers and the vows were made, yet it wasn't sealed yet. The minister gave Trunks his permission to kiss the bride. No one had to tell _him_ twice. He lifted up her veil, savoring the sight before planting a small taste of what was to come on her lips. The crowd roared at this motion, setting off a flood of tears from the female portion of the room. Pan smiled in embarrassment, parting from him as she realized just how many eyes were on them at that moment. 

Trunks took her hand and pulled her forward. They ran down from the altar, stopping momentarily to hug and kiss their family, then out the door. The crowd was still cheering when they left, blowing bubbles and throwing rice on them as they passed by. The Sons and the Briefs stayed behind a while, making sure that most everyone who went to the wedding made it okay to the reception. 

Trunks and Pan, however, hurried to the limo that was waiting out front to take them to Capsule Corp. As soon as they left the building, they were bombarded with flashes from hundreds of cameras, microphones and tape recorders nearly being shoved in their faces from nosey reporters who wanted to get a glimpse of the bride and groom on their wedding day. A few security guards were fatally attempting to hold the crowd back as the couple rushed by. It took a little while longer than expected, but they did eventually get to the limo.        

The reception started only half an hour later. The wedding party sat at the front of the room, the bride and groom next to each other, and the recently united Sons-Briefs clan on either side. People filled the large room, making it seem much smaller than it actually was. Cooks and waiters littered the floor, serving appetizers and drinks to the crowd as they danced and mingled with each other. Pan followed Trunks around the room as they said their 'hello's' to every one who had come. Most of the people she met were board members and CEO's of affiliating companies… People who were only there because Trunks and Bulma had felt it important to invite them for the benefit of the business. 

After the toasts were over, and the cake was cut, the dance floor was opened. Pan had to practically drag Trunks away from his business partners to get to dance with him at all. The ordeal finished late… the last of the invites left well after ten at night, followed by most of the family. Gohan, Videl, Bulma and Vegeta stayed, however, just to say goodbye one more time before the newly weds took off in flight to the airport, just in time to catch their late night, private plane north, to their snowy cabin honeymoon.    

 ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 

Cold air blew in from the window of the cabin, which was open, despite the freezing temperature outside. A roaring fire was burning in the fire place, warming the couple that laid in front of it. Pan shivered, feeling the cold air invade the room, despite the large source of heat in front of her… and another covering her back. 

A large arm covered her waist as lips traveled their way up her shoulder and across her neck. She shivered again, but this time, the cold had nothing to do with it. 

"Do you want me to shut the window?" He whispered in her ear, pausing to nibble on it. 

"No…" She said, turning so that she was underneath him, looking directly into his eyes. "I'm warm enough, thank you."

Pan giggled, feeling his light touches tickling her waist. He smirked, enjoying her smile as he continued to tickle her under the giant blanket that covered them. They were in bliss… laying in front of an open fire, having been in each other's arms for the last three hours. Hearing that the phone lines had been knocked down and that they were snowed in temporarily only seemed to fuel _their_ fire. It was late at night. Actually, early in the morning. Ah, who knew anymore? The snow had stopped, and the sky was clear… the moon casting its shine and glistening off of the snow on the ground. The view was breathtaking, but neither Pan nor Trunks had bothered looking outside. 

"I am so glad we got that wedding over with." Trunks admitted, kissing her hand.

"Yeah. I know it's been a hard day… but it was such a beautiful service. I'm glad we let our mothers take care of it." 

"True…  If we had done what I wanted to do, we would've been married on the day you walked out of the ROSAT… and we probably would have had an instant wedding in one of those drive-up chapels." 

"Trunks!" Pan objected, slapping his arm playfully. "Well, that would have depended on how long it would have taken your mom to send Vegeta to kill you."

"Well… what can I say? After seventeen years, I've become a little impatient. You're lucky I didn't snatch away from your bed one night and _forced_ you to marry me." He said, leaning down and kissing her softly, before laying back down on his back.

She sighed and moved again so that she was laying on his stomach. Her eyes pierced through his as if she were trying to read his mind. 

"What's wrong?"

"I never thanked you." She said.

"For what?!" 

"For waiting." She replied, her voice a whispered.

He sighed deeply, trying to find the words. "If I hadn't waited… I would have been very miserable. I love you too much. I couldn't have lived with myself."

"I love you too." 

Pan smiled and laid her head down on his chest. No more words were spoken that night from the exhausted pair. They spent the rest of their honeymoon in each other's arms. Their lives were sealed from that point on… and they wouldn't have it any other way. 

¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, 


	16. Author's Notes

Before officially burring this fic, I wanted to give a note of thanks to Presea and Trinity Blue. Both have been a giant help in finishing this thing and I have the utmost respect for them and their many, many talents. They have been awesome friends throughout the entire life of this story and I owe them big time. I also wanted to thank Rayne… the famous author of the two best T&P fics I've read, "Automatic Flowers" and "The Unexpected Guest". Unfortunately, these fics have been, for the most part, erased from the net due to extensive copying and plagiarism by others. I hope to finish "Watching", though I'm not sure if I'll get very far any time soon. I still have many ideas flowing through my brain, even though DB fandom is dying. Still, I write for my own sake… and you have no idea how satisfying and fulfilling it feels to get a two-year project like "Waiting" done. Thank you for reading. 


End file.
